Supreme Court seeks Centre’s view on plea against Aadhaar scheme

 NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday sought the government's views on the unique identification or Aadhaar programme that was started by its predecessor as a fresh petition sought to question its legality on the ground that it violated personal liberties and privacy.

A two-judge bench, comprising chief justice of India HL Dattu and justice AK Sikri, asked solicitor general Ranjit Kumar to revert to the top court in two weeks with the information but stopped short of issuing any formal legal notices to the government.

 "We read news reports which said the new government was doing a rethink on the issue," Dattu observed.

The petition, filed by Bangalore-resident Mathew Thomas, a former army officer and defence missile scientist turned social activist, had accused the new government of "slyly" pushing ahead with Aadhaar. He said the government had insisted on linking bank accounts with Aadhaar for direct transfer of the LPG subsidy and it was also being used to ensure attendance by officials. He urged the court to immediately stop this.