Recently, a lot has been read and written about linking Aadhar Card with Voter Identity Card. Although it is for the smooth functioning of the process of verification by the Election Commission of India, it imposes a certain responsibility on the citizens to aide in such smooth functioning by getting their Aadhar Card linked with the Voter Identity Card. In several places, the Election Booth officials have coerced people to get the linking done in order to hold their voter identity cards valid.

After much be said and done by the Supreme Court in the case of K.S Puttaswamy v. Union of India regarding Right to Privacy, such compulsion of linking Aadhar with the Voter ID Card does not make sense. In order to understand the basics of Right to Privacy as enshrined in the above-mentioned case, the following excerpt from the case needs to be understood:

        “Data mining with the object of ensuring that resources are properly deployed to legitimate beneficiaries is a valid ground for the State to insist on the collection of authentic data. But, the data which the State has collected has to be utilised for legitimate purposes of the State and ought not to be utilised unauthorisedly for extraneous purposes. This will ensure that the legitimate concerns of the State are duly safeguarded while, at the same time, protecting privacy concerns. Prevention and investigation of crime and protection of the revenue are among the legitimate aims of the State. Digital platforms are a vital tool of ensuring good governance in a social welfare State.”

While talking about “privacy concerns”, the Court addressed Privacy as a fundamental right contained in the provision of Article 21 of the Constitution. With that thought and judicial decision still being intact, even the current situation can be interpreted similarly. With regards to the linking of Aadhar with the Voter Identity Card, it has been time and again said that it is voluntary and hence, any authority claiming it to be a mandate can be easily brought to be questioned on the grounds of infringement of one’s right to privacy.