New Delhi/July,18: : The Supreme Court today referred the Aadhaar matter to a nine-judge Constitution bench to decide whether the linking of Pan card with 12-digit biometric identification number breaches one’s privacy or not.
A five-member bench comprising Chief Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar and four other judges referred the matter to a larger bench that would be a nine-judge Constitution bench.
The matter, whether the right to privacy is one’s fundamental right or not in the case, would be taken up for hearing tomorrow. The Apex Court, in its June 9 judgement, had stayed the Centre’s order of linking Aadhaar with PAN till the Constitution bench decides the matter.
The court had passed the order after hearing in detail the submissions and arguments from one of the petitioners, Vinay Visman, and other parties, including the Central government. It had also upheld the validity of the section 139 AA of the income tax act which prescribes linking of PAN with Aadhaar
