'Too Serious': SC Seeks Centre's Response On Plea Alleging Cancellation Of 4 Crore Ration Cards Over Aadhaar Linkage

The plea was filed by Koili Devi who is the mother of an 11-year-old girl that allegedly died of starvation because her family was taken off the government's welfare lists over failure to link their ration card with Aadhaar.

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought a response from the Centre and states, over a plea claiming cancellation of nearly four crore ration cards due to failure of linking them with the Aadhaar number.

The plea was filed by Koili Devi who is the mother of an 11-year-old girl that allegedly died of starvation on September 28, 2017. The girl is said to have starved for four days because her family was taken off the government's welfare lists over failure to link their ration card with Aadhaar.

"Insistence on Aadhar and biometric authentication had led to the cancellation of nearly 4 crore ration cards in the country according to the Union of India. The Union of India casually gives an explanation that these cancelled cards were bogus," the plea stated.

A bench headed by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde and comprising justices A.S. Bopanna and V. Ramasubramanian said: "The matter is too serious. We have to hear it." The top court added that it should not be treated as adversarial.

Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, representing the petitioner, stated that the matter deals with a larger issue. The bench responded saying that the relief sought is very omnibus and widened the scope of the matter.

Gonsalves contended that over three crore ration cards were cancelled at the central level, and as many as 10 to 15 lakh cards are cancelled at the level of each state. 
"The real reason is that the technological system based on iris identification, thumbprints, possession of Aadhar, functioning of the Internet in rural and remote areas etc. led to large scale cancellation of ration cards without notice to the family concerned," the plea argued.

Additional Solicitor General Aman Lekhi, representing the central government, called the plea as being misconceived, arguing that there was a grievance redressal mechanism under the Food Security Act.

If Aadhaar is not available alternate documents can be submitted. "We have clearly said Aadhaar or no Aadhaar, nobody will be denied right to food," submitted Lekhi.

In an updated status report, the petitioner has termed centre’s response in the case as being "casual". The court has issued a notice to the Centre and sought its response within four weeks to the petition pending since 2018.

(With Agency Inputs)