Defending the introduction of Aadhaar, the Centre on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that it would help identify genuine beneficiaries of subsidies, services and benefits, and eliminate problems like fake PAN cards and plug leakages in the public distribution system.
Appearing for the Centre, Attorney General K K Venugopal told a five-judge constitution bench, headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, that Aadhaar would not only help identify the beneficiaries of various schemes, it would also ensure better delivery of benefits by bringing in transparency and eradicating corruption.
In a note placed before the bench, which also comprises Justices A K Sikri, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Ashok Bhushan, the government said percolation of benefits down to the needy has been delayed and slowed due to corruption.
"According to me, nothing would succeed if the mindset of people at all levels, were to continue... Many countries that gained independence much after India are higher than India in the corruption index. What does this mean? It means that corruption is no more treated by families, which are able to profit through corruption, as something tainted," Venugopal said.
'Thus, there was felt a need to improve the targeting of beneficiaries under the schemes as also improve the delivery system. Aadhaar was originally envisaged to answer both the above problems in order to successfully implement various welfare schemes,' the note stated.
The Centre also referred to various international economic reports and surveys to emphasise on the need for Aadhaar.
The government also said, "Historically, respective governments allocated trillions of rupees towards subsidies, scholarships, pensions, education and other welfare programs. But it was seen that nearly half of it never reached the intended beneficiaries."
"Several studies initiated by the government as well as the World Bank and Planning Commission revealed that food grains did not reach the intended beneficiaries and that there was large scale leakages due to the failure to establish identity," it said.
Therefore, there was a 'legitimate and, in this case, a compelling need' to introduce Aadhaar 'for identification of genuine beneficiaries of subsidies, services and benefits under the Aadhaar Act or elimination of fake PAN cards, or fake bank accounts has been established beyond doubt and cannot be questioned by the petitioners', the government said.
