Insistence On Production Of Aadhaar Card Not Applicable To SC/ST Students For Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme: Meghalaya High Court

The High Court was considering a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) espousing the cause of various students who were unable to avail the benefits of financial assistance extended to the SC/ST students by reason of their failure to produce the Aadhaar cards.

The Division Bench of Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice W. Diengdoh held, “In view of the above, the notification as far as it insists the production of Aadhaar card shall not be applicable to the SC/ST students of the State up to the post-matriculation level [up to the age of 18 years] for the post-matric scholarship scheme. However, the candidate would be required to prove his identity as a resident including birth certificate and any other reliable authenticated documents if called for by the authorities in processing their claim for scholarship.”

Advocate P.T. Sangma represented the Petitioner while DSGI N. Mozika represented the Respondent.

Factual Background

The PIL was filed challenging the notification dated October 31,2023 by which the State of Meghalaya insisted that a child desirous of availing the benefit of financial assistance extended to the SC/ST students for the State who are not eligible for scholarships under the Government of India’s Post Matric Scholarship Scheme for SC/STs and other scholarship schemes introduced by the Central and State governments would be required to furnish proof of possession of the Aadhaar number or undergo Aadhaar authentication.

Arguments

The Petitinoner brought it to the Court’s notice that the Government of India, Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue Central Board of Direct Taxes issued a press release in 2017, mentioning that an individual residing, in the State of Meghalaya are exempted from the requirement of Aadhaar card and therefore the Aadhaar card id is optional and not mandatory for the citizens who live in the State of Meghalaya and also would not be mandatory for the purpose of opening the bank account or for any other activities.

On the contrary, it was the case of the Deputy Solicitor General appearing for the Union of India that the proviso to Section 7 of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016, has not been declared to be ultra vires.

Reasoning

On a perusal of the facts of the case, the Bench noted that the children who were now to be benefited under the scheme had already enrolled themselves in the schools and they would now be pursuing their higher secondary i.e. Class-XI and Class-XII.

“If the students had already furnished the required details to establish their authenticity at the time of their admission and matriculations if for some reasons, they are unable to produce the Aadhaar number in terms of paragraph 512.6, they cannot be denied the benefit of the scheme. This also appears to be the submission made on behalf of the Union of India by the Attorney General for India, at the Bar and have been accepted by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in paragraph 512.6 in the case of K.S. Puttaswamy (supra)”, it held.

The Bench also made it clear that the Notification as far as it insists the production of Aadhaar card shall not be applicable to the SC/ST students of the State up to the post-matriculation level for the post-matric scholarship scheme.

Cause Title: Greneth M. Sangma v. The Union of India (Neutral Citation: 2025:MLHC:1030-DB)

Appearance

Petitioner: Advocate P.T. Sangma

Respondent: DSGI Mozika, Advocate K. Gurung, GA R. Colney

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