SC Says Denial of Aadhaar to Orphaned Children Violates Right to Identity: A Victory for Stateless Youth
- ByAdmin --
- 21 Apr 2025 --
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In a deeply compassionate and constitutionally significant judgment, the Supreme Court of India has ruled that denying Aadhaar cards to orphaned or abandoned children due to lack of documentation is a violation of their fundamental right to identity under Article 21. The Court emphasized that no child should be rendered invisible in the eyes of the state because of circumstances they did not choose.
The verdict came in response to a public interest litigation filed by a child rights organization, which highlighted how thousands of children in child care institutions, orphanages, and foster systems were being excluded from welfare schemes, education, and digital services due to non-issuance of Aadhaar.
The ruling is a landmark in reaffirming that identity is not earned—it is affirmed by law, especially for the most vulnerable.
The Case: No Parents, No Documents, No ID
The petition focused on children living in institutional care homes, many of whom:
- Were abandoned at birth or rescued by child protection agencies
- Did not have a birth certificate or details of biological parents
- Were unable to enroll for Aadhaar because of the requirement of parental or guardian authentication via biometrics
Without Aadhaar, these children were being denied:
- Admission in government schools
- Access to PM Cares for Children scheme, meant for COVID orphans
- Scholarships, health insurance, and ration schemes
- Basic identity services like opening a bank account or getting a mobile SIM
- The Court held that the right to life includes the right to be seen, recognized, and counted—which is denied when Aadhaar becomes inaccessible.
- Children without Aadhaar are effectively rendered stateless within their own country.
- The judgment emphasized that the lack of parental data cannot be held against a child.
- The state has a duty to create alternate protocols for identification, especially for children under institutional care.
- The Court noted that while Aadhaar is voluntary by law, it has become de facto mandatory for nearly all public services, creating an urgent need for inclusion safeguards.
- The Court held that the right to life includes the right to be seen, recognized, and counted—which is denied when Aadhaar becomes inaccessible.
Despite multiple circulars issued by UIDAI and the Ministry of Women and Child Development, ground-level implementation remained inconsistent and exclusionary.
The Court’s Verdict: Identity Is the First Right
The bench, headed by Justice S. Ravindra Bhat, ruled emphatically in favor of the petitioners.
Key Observations:
- Right to Identity Is Integral to Article 21
- State Cannot Deny Rights Due to Its Own Failures
- Aadhaar Is Not Just a Card—It’s Access
Directive Measures Issued by the Court
The Supreme Court has directed that:
- All Child Care Institutions (CCIs) registered under the Juvenile Justice Act must coordinate with District Child Protection Units and UIDAI to ensure Aadhaar enrollment of all resident children within 90 days.
- Biometric exemptions be granted for children under 18 without guardians, using institutional certification or digital guardianship IDs issued by Child Welfare Committees.
- UIDAI must create a separate Aadhaar enrollment category for “unidentified minors or abandoned children,” ensuring that institutional heads or verified NGO members can act as introducers.
- No child should be denied any scheme or service in the interim merely due to lack of Aadhaar, and alternate IDs such as Child Care ID cards or birth records from shelter homes must be accepted.
Why It Matters: The Human Side of Data
India has over 29 million orphaned or abandoned children, many of whom remain outside the formal state welfare umbrella. For these children:
- Aadhaar is not just a number—it is a lifeline.
- It means access to food, school, safety, and hope.
This judgment ensures that a bureaucratic form does not decide a child’s future.
Expert Reactions and Child Rights Advocacy
Kriti Bharti, child rights activist and founder of Saarthi Trust, hailed the judgment as “a recognition that a child is a citizen first, not a file without attachments.”
Legal experts also emphasized that this ruling could set a template for other documentation challenges, especially among street children, juvenile offenders, and children of refugees.
It may push UIDAI to:
- Re-engineer its inclusion algorithms and authentication protocols
- Train enrollment agencies in sensitive handling of vulnerable children
- Work closely with state governments to prevent digital exclusion
A Name, A Number, A Nation’s Promise
The Supreme Court’s verdict is a poignant reminder that identity is not a reward—it’s a right. And for children who have already lost family, safety, or home, the state must not rob them of belonging too.
Because when the law sees a child, the nation sees a future. And with this judgment, India has stepped forward to ensure that no child remains uncounted, unnamed, or unheard.
This is not just a ruling. It is a rescue—from invisibility.
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