SC Constitution bench begins hearing on Aadhaar

The five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court has begun hearing the matter related to the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar Act on Wednesday.

The five-judge Constitution bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and four other judges Justices A.M. Khanwilkar, Adarsh Kumar Sikri, D.Y.Chandrachud and Ashok Bhushan hearing the constitutional validity of Aadhaar matter.A nine-judge constitution bench of the apex court had held that Right to Privacy was a Fundamental Right under the Constitution.

Several petitioners challenging the validity of Aadhaar had claimed it violated privacy rights. Besides the challenge to the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar Act, the constitution benches will hear the seven other important matters, including the scrapping of Section 377 which criminalises gay sex between consenting adults. The other issues to be dealt with by constitution bench include the pleas, which have raised a question as to when will a lawmaker, facing a criminal trial, stand disqualified.