SC declines to peruse Srikrishna panel report

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to consider the Centre's plea to place on record the report of Justice B N Srikrishna committee on "data protection" for perusal of the five-judge Constitution bench, which had reserved the verdict on pleas challenging the validity of Aadhaar.

A five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, on May 10, had reserved the verdict on the pleas challenging the constitutional validity of Centre's flagship Aadhaar scheme and its enabling 2016 law after a hearing that gone on for 38 days.

On Monday, Attorney General K K Venugopal, appearing for the Centre, submitted before the bench of CJI Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud that the Justice Srikrishna committee has recently submitted the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018 and its report and the Centre can submit it, if the court wishes so.

"We do not think that it is required,” the CJI said after consulting justices Khanwilkar and Chandrachud who were also part of the Constitution bench that had heard the pleas against Aadhaar.