The central government on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that citizens can’t refuse to give digital samples of their fingerprints and iris for Aadhaar enrolment by claiming "absolute" right over their body parts.
According to a report in Times of India, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi told the apex court that there were various laws that put restrictions on such a right for citizens.
"The concept of absolute right over one's body was a myth and there were various laws which put restrictions on such a right," Mukul Rohatgi told an apex court bench comprising Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan.
The Attorney General was presenting government’s stand on a number of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of Section 139AA of the Income Tax Act which makes Aadhaar number mandatory while filing income tax returns and applying for PAN number from July 1 this year.
The Attorney General also reminded that after the passage of the Aadhaar Act, it has become mandatory for citizens to get the unique identity number.
Mukul Rohatgi gave many example to buttress his argument that the citizens don’t have absolute right over their bodies.
He pointed out that the law prohibited people from committing suicide and women were barred from terminating their pregnancy at an advanced stage.
"There is no absolute right over the body. If such a right existed then committing suicide would have been permitted and people would have been allowed to do whatever they wanted with their bodies. The right not to have bodily intrusion is not absolute, and the life of a person can also be taken away by following a due procedure of law. People cannot commit suicide and take drugs," he added.
However, the court reminded the Attorney General that the examples given by him were not appropriate as the case pertained to taxation law and not with offence.
The apex court added that a balance had to be maintained between an individual's right and the state's actions.
Denying that the government intended to track individuals by linking PAN with Aadhar, the Attorney General said that was needed to curb the practice of tax evasion and to keep tabs on the circulation of black money as PAN was not a fool proof deterrent.
"It is not meant to track anyone. The purpose is not to create Uncle Sam who will keep snooping. It is meant to make India a tax-compliant society and ensure that the benefits of welfare schemes reach the poor," he said.
