Aadhaar Judgment: Starvation Death Debate Far From Resolved

While the Supreme Court upheld the validity of Aadhaar, it barred private firms from insisting on the biometric ID for authentication. But one key aspect, according to Reetika Khera, professor at IIM Ahmedabad, remains unresolved: starvation deaths.

Khera's study found a mention in the 567-page majority judgment of the top court. There's no official government data on starvation deaths linked to lack of Aadhaar card. Khera, however, found there have been at least 25 deaths between 2015 and 2018 because poor beneficiaries couldn't access to the public distribution system due to lack of the 12-digit number.

Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, who represented the Aadhaar-issuing body UDIAI in the Supreme Court, said fears of people like Khera are misplaced.

The Supreme Court upheld that Aadhaar can be made mandatory to avail government-paid welfare services. That covers distribution of rations through the public distribution system. Taking a serious note of reported starvation deaths, the top court referred to the government's assurance that no individual will be denied rights just because of lack of Aadhaar card.

The government, however, has maintained that there have been no Aadhaar-related deaths due to starvation despite these being widely reported in the media.

Khera doesn't buy the government's argument, hoping that there will be a rethink on Aadhaar like the decriminalisation of homosexuality.