The Supreme Court (SC) on July 20 said it would direct the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to implement an Orissa High Court order requiring the APAAR (Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry) consent form to explicitly give parents the option to refuse or opt out of the scheme, which mandates Aadhaar linking to APAAR ID. LiveLaw reported this first.
A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V. Mohana was hearing a writ petition filed by parents of four students challenging the constitutional validity of APAAR, on the ground that it compels students to obtain Aadhaar IDs and does not comply with the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023.
What the SC said: The bench said it will pass a direction to CBSE “to implement this judgment on a pan-India basis” since the Orissa High Court’s order was unchallenged, and will also direct CBSE “to examine the issues as well.”
However, the CJI pushed back on the petitioners, saying: “Let us not doubt everything in the country with a suspicious eye; it is a welcome step.” He said a unique student ID helps CBSE headquarters track enrolment, maintain the teacher-student ratio, and support curriculum implementation.
The SC also noted that CBSE’s circulars are subject to the DPDP Act regardless of its own rules.
Senior Advocate Indira Jaising, appearing for the petitioners, cited the Supreme Court’s 2019 Puttaswamy ruling, which holds that no one can compel children to enter their Aadhaar number. She argued that since APAAR IDs link to Aadhaar and exam registration requires them, the system effectively and indirectly forces students into Aadhaar linking, even though officials describe the APAAR ID as voluntary.
“Right to education is not a targeted service. The Right to education is a Constitutional right. Therefore, asking a child to get an Aadhaar and an APAAR for being sent up to exams is against the Constitution,” argued Indira.
“We are concerned with the micro-level data. It is my right to be forgotten, to withdraw consent. I don’t want people to know when I am a professional whether I failed in any subject while at school.” — Indira Jaising
As an alternative to striking down the scheme, Jaising sought court-mandated guidelines on consent and data safeguards, and asked the court to declare the Orissa High Court’s opt-out direction applicable across India.
The Orissa High Court order: The Supreme Court’s direction stems from a December 2025 ruling by Justice Sashikanta Mishra of the Orissa High Court in Rohit Anand Das & Anr. v. State of Odisha & Ors., filed by the father of a kindergarten student after his school sought Aadhaar details and consent for an APAAR ID.
The Orissa High Court then held that the model consent form did not reflect the government’s own position that APAAR is voluntary, since it allowed only withdrawal of consent after enrolment rather than an…
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