SC raps Modi govt for making Aadhaar mandatory for filing I-T returns

The Supreme Court of Friday asked Attorney General (AG) Mukul Rohatgi to justify making Aadhaar mandatory for filing Income Tax returns as it is a complete violation of the court's previous order. "Is making Aadhaar by force the only way to tackle fraud?" a furious Supreme Court asked the central government.

The apex court debated the legality of a centralized biometric-based database of India’s 1.2 billion citizens. To this, Mukul Rohatgi responded that the central government's only option was to make Aadhaar mandatory to end the black money menace.

"We found a number of pan cards being used to divert funds to shell companies, to prevent it the only option is to make Aadhaar card mandatory," said Rohatgi.

The Supreme Court had on March 27 made it clear that Aadhaar cannot be made mandatory by the government for extending benefits of social welfare schemes.

The top court, however, said that the government cannot be barred from seeking these cards, which are issued by UIDAI, for "non-benefit" purposes like filing of IT returns and opening of accounts.

"The answer is this that for giving benefits of welfare schemes, it (Aadhaar) cannot be pressed. They (government and its agencies) cannot be stopped from seeking Aadhaar for non-benefit schemes like opening of bank accounts," a bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar had said.

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After Adityanath's slaughter house ban, women police battalions for UP?

With Uttar Pradesh (UP) Chief Minister (CM) Yogi Adityanath handing over the BJP manifesto (Lok Kalyan Sankalp Patra) to bureaucrats to be implemented over the next five years, there may be many more surprises in store in the times to come.One of the first things his government did after being sworn in was to declare a ban illegal slaughter houses.

One of the other things in the BJP’s manifesto that was handed over to the state’s top bureaucrats  is a proposal to raise women police battalions across the state. These women battalions are to be christened as Jhalkari Bai battalion, Uda Devi battalion and Avanti Bai battalion. All three women soldiers were part of separate rebellions against the British empire in what is called the Great Indian Revolt of 1857.

Hindi poet Srikrishna Sarala describes Jhalkari Devi in Volume 1 of his five-volume series chronicling Indian revolutionaries between 1751 to 1961 as the soldier who fought disguised as Lakshmibai, the queen of Jhansi against the British. Raising these three battalions named after Dalit women soldiers would also signal an acknowledgment to the Dalit community in the state. All three women soldiers were Dalits. (TO BE CONTINUED)