The Delhi High Court has said in an order that Aadhaar number for admission to private schools in the national capital under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS), Disadvantaged Group (DG), Children with Special Needs (CWSN) categories is not mandatory, refusing to interfere with an earlier order. The court said demanding Aadhaar card from students during admission would mean infringing their right to privacy. It was hearing an appeal filed by the Delhi government against the order by a single-judge bench.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma dismissed the appeal stating that the requirement is prima facie in conflict with the constitutional provisions (under Article 21) pertaining to privacy.
"The issue of obtaining sensitive personal details of a child, as observed in the K S Puttaswamy case (by the Supreme Court), would have the potential of infringing their right to privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution of India," the bench said in an order passed last week.
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Presenting the Delhi government's view, standing counsel Santosh Kumar Tripathi argued that Aadhaar card serves a practical purpose and is aimed at keeping a check on duplicate applications. He added that the policy was initiated to modernise the admission process for the EWS and DG categories in entry-level classes in private, unaided, recognised schools. It was also argued that mandating an Aadhaar card did not violate a child's right to free and compulsory education, rather it served as a safeguard against fraudulent applications and admissions based on false identities.
A petition was earlier filed by a man who had alleged that his five-year-old child was unable to participate in a computerised lottery scheme for allocation of seats in schools for the 2023 academic year as he did not have an Aadhaar card.
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The submission of Aadhaar card or number for admission to private unaided recognised schools in the national capital under the EWS, DG, CWSN categories was made compulsory through circulars issued by the Delhi government on July 12, 2022 and February 2, 2023.