Open Letter to Chief Justice of India on aadhaar

To

 Respected Chief Justice of Supreme Court of India,

May I firstly congratulate you on becoming Chief Justice of India recently, as I was an avid follower of landmark Supreme court cases on which you had given verdicts, specially the Right to Privacy and aadhaar verdicts.  Although your aadhaar verdict was Minority opinion in the bench, but it clearly steered the Majority verdict to say, "Aadhaar can not be Mandatory in opening Bank accounts or getting Mobile telephone connections" . So I am hopeful that in your tenure, People's Fundamental Rights would be strongly protected from erroneous Laws, Rules and Regulations that governments (both in centre and in states) prevailing know or are planned to put in. I share your school of thought that Biometric information is citizen's own property and nobody can pressurize a Citizen of India to give his or her fingerprints and retina /iris prints to any Government.

I never made my Aadhaar (Biometric) card and it made my present life a living Hell.

In direct violation of aadhaar verdict,  all PSU and private banks now ask for aadhaar to be linked with the bank account of Indian Citizens. 

They deliberately ask for that while opening a savings account, most PSU Bank managers have flat out rejected such applications for new accounts. In case of Old accounts,  they allow it to be active.  But when Debit card expires, they do not issue Debit card.

I had only one savings account with Axis Bank and for last 9 months, I'm not getting the replacement Debit Card .. they on their part is issuing a Rupay Debit Card with every request of mine which is getting stopped in midway. First they said, my address was not complete and courier could not find it and that turned out to be wrong claim by their call-center . As I requested for a new Chequebook for the same account, and that reached my address and I received that.

Nobody officially said that I had to make aadhaar and submit it. But one executive lastly confided that only people without aadhaar are facing that problem. 

Lordship must know that I'm quasi-retired now, because I can't find an easy way to submit my "Income Tax Returns" and now Union Government and Tax authorities are threatening to cancel my "PERMANENT ACCOUNT NUMBER" of PAN .

Now this PAN is important part of my identification with Bank (which they call KYC) , I don't know what will happen to my meagre savings. 

The bank asked me to download their app, first thing that app shows is connect "aadhaar with PAN" otherwise you can't proceed further in the app (or at least I could not get past that screen). Sir, what is the business of a Private bank in forcing a customer to give aadhaar to PAN regulators?

Meanwhile, my Passport has expired and there also they are asking for aadhaar. Sir, I thought right to travel is part of right to movement; this is not a welfare scheme of Government, so aadhaar should not be required. 

I can't get cooking gas (LPG) connection for domestic purposes. They also ask for aadhaar.  I told them, I don't want Government subsidy and still I can't get connection . 

My old mobile connection is the only mode of communication left for me. As for new Wifi router or dongle, all ISP are asking for aadhaar. 

Sir, these are cases of union government . Now during Pandemic lockdown, my driving license had expired .  I tried applying online, they also ask for aadhaar. Although it was issued in West Bengal, a state whose government which opposed "aadhaar mandate" but they also ask for aadhaar. 

So I now go old-school and offline to do my banking with Chequebooks and Passbooks and can't drive my own car. I don't mind physically being present in the bank as it remains empty by the cash counter as people queue up in front of ATM machines.  But all expenses in life are not planned, suppose I get admitted in hospital, would they accept cheques of a man about to be operated. 

So I stay clear of Hospitals also.

But Supreme Lordship will be shocked to know that In West Bengal and in most other States .. Even in death,  aadhaar is mandatory or so Crematorium & Burning Ghats Proudly say so. No aadhaar, No cremation or burial for that matter.

They do not Perform ANY BIOMETRIC TEST on the dead person, but issue a death certificate based on aadhaar. How many criminals may have faked their deaths by passing their own aadhaar card on unclaimed cadavers, God only knows and Your Lordship can easily understand. They get their death certificate, immediately. But the heirs of a law abiding person will have to run from Pillar to post, to get a legally binding Death certificate only because the deceased believed in Fundamental Rights and your aadhaar verdict. Is this Justice, Sir?

I know every single citizen has Ignored your fine verdict on aadhaar and keeps ignoring "UIDAI advisory" to offer a scanned or photocopy of their aadhaar to every official who asks , but do these documents provide any real proof of identification to the authorities or do people Know that these copies will be kept safe, for eternity?

I actually had bhelpuri on a paper cone made with aadhaar photocopy.. right outside a telecom/ISP store. But there was too much of chutney in bhelpuri.. so it got smudged. 

But Sir, I believe people have to right to choose, if somebody wants to distribute their Biometric ID .. let them do that. 

But Sir, show me a way to live without aadhaar or let me die.

Suicide has been decriminalised, if only by a commitment of Government to Supreme Court.  But my tiny savings and small amounts of life insurance in India shall not reach my nominees if Municipality run Crematorium does not issue my DEATH CERTIFICATE. 

PLEASE HELP SIR, PLEASE GUIDE ME.