TheIndian EXPRESS LATE CITY, 28 PAGES, NEW DELHI, `6.00 (`8 PATNA & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) ● THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2018 ● WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA CONSTITUTION BENCH UPHOLDS AADHAAR LAW 4-1, WANTS STRONG FIREWALLS Supreme Court gives Aadhaar some privacy Fair balance between privacy and right to life: CJI bench BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY ANANTHAKRISHNAN G NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 26 INAlandmarkmajorityrulingon the world’s largest biometric identity project, the Supreme Court Wednesday upheld the Constitutional validity of the Aadhaar Act on the ground that it “struck a fair balance between the right of privacy of the individual with right to life of the sameindividualasabeneficiary” but ring-fenced the law from possible misuse by the State and private entities. Whileitupheldthelinkingof the permanent account number (PAN) to the unique Aadhaar number and the notifications allowing people to avail subsidies and benefits provided by the government, a five-judge Constitution Bench, in a 4-1 verdict on several petitions, struck down the requirement of linking Aadhaar to bank accounts and mobile phone numbers, and on its insistence for pension and school admissions. It expressed the hope that the government “shall not unduly expand the scope of ‘subsidies, services and benefits’ thereby widening the net of Aadhaar, where it is not permitted otherwise”. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 NEED IT FOR TAX BUT NOT FOR... ■ Pension ■ Admission to schools ■ Examinations by CBSE, NEET, JEE and UGC ■ Mobile numbers ■ Bank accounts ■ Mutual Funds ■ Insurance companies ■ Payment banks like PayTM, Airtel Payments Bank 14 THE EDITORIAL PAGE Joint Secy (Air) objected to benchmark price, was overruled; Cabinet approved in September 2016; officer went on leave SUSHANT SINGH NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 26 NEARLYAmonthbeforethedeal for 36 Rafale aircraft was signed between then Defence Minister ManoharParrikarandhisFrench counterpart in New Delhi in September 2016, a senior officer of the Ministry of Defence, who had been part of the Contract Negotiations Committee (CNC), raisedquestionsaboutthedeal’s benchmarkprice andputhis objections on record, The Indian Express has learnt. This officer was then Joint Secretary&AcquisitionManager (Air) in the MoD and the one meant to initiate the note for the Cabinet’s approval. Sources have confirmed to The Indian Express that his objections delayed the Cabinet note approving the deal and its signing which only happened after his objections were “overruled” by another senior MoD official, Director General (Acquisition). The note by the JS & AM (Air), as part of the Rafale deal file, is currently with the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) who is studying the deal which has set off a political controversy. Sources said the CAG is likely CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BY ARVIND P DATAR STRIKES DOWN PART OF SECTION 57 ECOSYSTEM HIT Private firms (banks and phones) can’t ask for Aadhaar linking ANANTHAKRISHNAN G & SEEMA CHISHTI Govt thumbs up but fingers crossed in tech space Ranjana Sonawane, the first Aadhaar beneficiary, at her home in Tembhli village, Nandurbar, Maharashtra, Wednesday. She got her card in 2010 and, apart from monthly rations, used it to get a subsidised gas cylinder, scholarship for her son. Prashant Nadkar REPORT, PAGE 9 KRISHN KAUSHIK Shaping digital destiny NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 26 IN UPHOLDING the Constitutional validity of the Aadhaar programme in a 4-1 ruling, a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court also limited the scope of the biometric project, particularly on sharing data with private entities and ruled that Aadhaar was no longer mandatory for bank accounts, mobile connections, pension or school admissions. Aadhaar verdict will cleanse system of fakes and duplicates, ensure services reach intended beneficiaries. THEIDEASPAGE 15 The majority verdict by Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A K Sikri, who wrote the major- ity judgement, and A M Khanwilkar besides chastising the Centre for trying to push Aadhaar on children had a range of suggestions to strengthen the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016. It also barred corporate bodies from using Aadhaar for authentications, unless backed by a law and ruled that the UIDAI cannot store any metadata related to Aadhaar-based authentications or authentication history for CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ‘DID NOT QUALIFY AS MONEY BILL’ Fraud on Constitution...violates rights: Justice (Dissenting) Chandrachud KAUNAIN SHERIFF M ‘Suffers from Constitutional infirmities and violations of basic rights’ NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 26 FROM THE way it was passed as aMoneyBilltoitsprovisionsthat curtailed fundamental rights, the Aadhaar Act came in for blistering criticism from Justice D Y Chandrachud. Accepting the Government’s contentionthatthereneedstobe anIDsystemfortargeteddelivery of welfare benefits, Justice Chandrachud said that the state hadfailedtoshowthatthisentails sacrifices on “individual autonomy,dataprotectionanddignity.” Writing the dissenting opinion in the 4-1 verdict, Justice Chandrachud struck down the lawonthegroundsthat“(the)entire Aadhaar programme, since 2009” suffers from “Constitutionalinfirmitiesandviolations of fundamental rights”. Saying that it failed to qualify CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Course correction KARISHMA MEHROTRA & RAVISH TIWARI NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 26 WHILETHEgovernmenthadreason to cheer the Supreme Court verdict, there is uncertainty and anxietyinthenascentdigitalecosystem building around the Aadhaar digital infrastructure. Beyondthedeclaredpurpose for targeted welfare/subsidy delivery, Aadhaar has grown as a digital infrastructure created by the government that served as a platform for creating a host of authentication-based services CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 7 EXPLAINED Decoding the Verdict: You & Your Aadhaar FULL COVERAGE PAGES 8, 9 ‘I AM JUST A SAFAI KARAMCHARI HERE BUT THIS POLICE STATION DEPENDS ON ME’ APURVA CHAURI CHAURA (UP), SEPTEMBER 26 MAHATMA A RED initiative appears in today’s edition of The Indian Express. This page is an initiative of the marketing solutions team of The Indian Express Group and contains content paid for by advertisers. This page should be read as an advertisement. MoD official put on record objections to 36-Rafale deal Quota in promotions OK but keep out creamy layer among SCs, STs: Bench ● PAGE ONE ANCHOR FLAG BEARERS OF THE NATION JOURNALISM OF COURAGE SWACHH BHARAT PART II The Indian Express reporters fan out across the country to mark milestones in the Mahatma’s journey. To bring stories of the footsoldiers of Swachh Bharat, whose job it is to wipe, mop and dust where the Mahatma once walked. Tashi Tobgyal CHAURI CHAURA: VIOLENCE AT THIS POLICE STATION PROMPTED GANDHI TO CALL OFF NATIONAL MOVEMENT Malti Devi, 65. Job: Casual labour. Salary: `600. Work hours: 6 am-10 am. Cleans: Premises, assembly area, 2 toilets BEADS OF sweat trickling down her face, she leans on a five-foot makeshift broom made of bristlestiedtoapolicelathi,staresat the pile of dry leaves in a corner and looks up to the darkening sky. A faint smile, and the broom is moving again, faster, a little careless even. It's past 7 am. “I love the rain, except between 6 and 10 every morning. If it rains now or the windstartsblowing,allmywork CONTINUED ON PAGE 11 TOMORROW CHAMPARAN NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 26 APPLYING THE creamy layer principle to promotions for ScheduledCastesandScheduled Tribes in government jobs, the Supreme Court Wednesday declined to refer to a larger bench its 2006 verdict on the matter. It ruled that states no longer need to collect quantifiable data on thebackwardness of SCsand STs in granting quota in promotions, but will have to back it with data to show their inadequate repre- sentation in the cadre. Ruling unanimously on a clutch of petitions to revisit the M Nagaraj & Others vs Union of India verdict, a five-judge Constitution Bench, comprising Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, Justices Kurian Joseph, R F Nariman (he wrote the order), SKKaulandInduMalhotra,said: “Thewhole objectof reservation is to see that backward classes of citizens move forward so that they may march hand in hand withother citizens of Indiaonan equal basis. This will not be possible if only the creamy layer CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 It was a govt-to-govt discussion...I was not in charge at that time...we have very clear rules...This is very important to me because this is a strategic coalition EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT RELATED REPORT PAGE 10 On EC table: Model code to kick in as soon as House dissolved P VAIDYANATHAN IYER & RITIKA CHOPRA NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 26 THE ELECTION Commission is considering passing an order shortly to ensure that the Model Code of Conduct kicks in immediately after a state dissolves its Assembly and seeks early elections. This will mean that states may be barred from taking any policy decision which may be in the nature of influencing the electorate. The kicking in of the Model Code of Conduct may not CONTINUED ON PAGE 2