Supreme Court issues notice to the Centre and UIDAI: Seeks directions to eliminate Aadhar Mandate for Covid Vaccinations

The apex court of India, The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Centre & UIDAI on a petition seeking directions to eliminate the mandatory pre-condition of submitting Aadhaar details in CoWIN portal while verifying an individual for the administration of the COVID19 vaccine. Till now, if in case one individual wanted to book a slot for the vaccination drive, they needed to upload any government issued ID to book a slot, and hence get vaccinated. However, some centres were making a mandate that only Aadhar could be a legitimate source of identity. However, the Supreme Court has now raised a petition to ensure that the Aadhar submission is no longer mandatory to get any of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Aadhaar is the subject of several rulings by the Supreme Court of India. On 23 September 2013 the Supreme Court issued an interim order saying that "no person should suffer for not getting Aadhaar", adding that the government cannot deny a service to a resident who does not possess Aadhaar, as it is voluntary and not mandatory. It is evident that the honourable court has extended its discourse on this issue by raising the petition.