New Delhi, Feb 8: While hearing the clutch of petitions challenging the validity of Aadhaar on Wednesday, the Supreme Court asked what is wrong with the idea of 'one nation, one identity'. The court's remark came in response to senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who while arguing on behalf of the West Bengal government, said the real issue is whether the idea of 'one nation, one identity' is constitutionally valid.

The apprehensions to Sibal's remark was marked by Justice A K Bhushan, who is part of the five-judge constitution bench which is hearing the petitions against the mandatory linkage of Aadhaar.

"What is wrong with the one nation, one identity idea? After all, we are all Indians and proud of that identity," Justice Bhushan said.

Reacting to the judge's retort, Sibal said the idea is flawed since one single identity cannot be used to determine the nationality of all Indians. "We are all fiercely Indian even if we do not have Aadhaar," added Sibal, who is also a former union minister.

In a bid to conclude the argument between Justice Bhushan and Sibal, Justice A K Sikri -- another member of the five judge bench -- intervened saying, what Sibal meant is that one nation, one identity does not mean that if one does not have Aadhaar, he does not cease to be an Indian".

Further presenting his arguments against the mandatory usage of Aadhaar, Sibal said the biometric data, when uploaded online, could "possibly be never retrieved" if stolen or duplicated. He also raised doubts over the security mechanism of UIDAI, claiming nothing on the digital platform is safe.

To this, the court asserted that the government has been denying any threat to the security of Aadhaar data. Sibal, however, replied saying, "No one knows how to keep data 100 percent secure."

The arguments in the case are expected to continue on Thursday.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 08, 2018 11:02 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).