The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a PIL which sought linkage of the 12-digit Aadhaar number to social media accounts.
According to media reports, the apex court asked the petitioner to approach the Madras High Court regarding the matter.
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The Madras High Court is hearing two petitions seeking Aadhaar number to be linked to social media accounts.
Similar petitions to link Aadhaar to social media accounts have also been lodged with the Madhya Pradesh and Bombay High Courts.
Also read: PAN-Aadhaar linking date extended to December 31
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The judges, stating that a similar matter is pending before the Madras High Court, observed that while the matter is important, everything cannot come before the SC.
A media report quoted the apex court as saying, “Everything doesn’t need to come to the SC. This issue is before the Madras HC, you go there.”
The Supreme Court said this in response to the fresh public interest litigation (PIL) filed by lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay.
Upadhyay was given liberty to withdraw the PIL.
The apex court was referring to the ongoing case between Facebook and the Centre as well as the state governments regarding Aadhaar linkage.
The Madras HC is of the view that the Aadhaar would not be linked to social media accounts but expanded the scope of the petitions to look at the traceability of the messages.
A petition seeking Aadhaar linkage was filed in the Madras High Court in July 2018.
According to a Bar & Bench report, the case was taken up by the apex court bench of Justices Deepak Gupta and Aniruddha Bose.
It has been reported that a petition was filed in July 2018 in the Madras High Court seeking to link Aadhaar with social media platforms.
The case was heard by the HC which had then expanded the petition to include issues like ensuring message traceability for ‘curbing cybercrimes and intermediary liability’.
The Facebook requested the SC to take the case seeking transfer of the petition on PILs against WhatsApp’s traceability pending at the Madras HC, Bombay HC and in Madhya Pradesh HC.
The apex court sought the central government’s view on the matter and cautioned against repercussions.
The Facebook and WhatsApp strongly objected to Aadhaar linking saying that it would affect the privacy of its users.