The Bombay high court has asked the centre how can they withhold salary of a person for failing to link Aadhaar card with his bank account, reported The Hindu.

Ramesh Purale who is working as a chargeman with the Mumbai Port Trust, has not got his salary since 2016 as he refused to link his bank account with the Aadhaar card. In December 2015, the Union Ministry of Shipping issued a letter to him asking to link his salary account with Aadhaar card. Citing his rights to privacy, he refused. After that, his salary was withheld, then he filed a petition with the Bombay High court.

Bombay high court on Monday while hearing the matter asked the centre how can they withhold salary of a person for failing to link his/her account with the Aadhaar card. The bench which comprised of A S Oka and S K Shinde has directed the union government to pay the salary to Purale, the petitioner and next hearing of the matter is on January 8.

“We have perused the apex court’s judgement. Prime facie, we are of the view that the petitioner’s salary cannot be withheld on the ground that there is a failure to link Aadhaar card with the bank account,” he said.

Salary to Purale was stopped since July 2016 after that he petitioned in the court. This month, he filed an application on the court citing September 26 order of Supreme Court which said that mandatory linking of Aadhaar card with the bank account is not required.

Earlier, a five-judge Supreme Court bench on September 26 upheld the constitutional validity of Aadhaar, however, it has struck down multiple sections of the Aadhaar Act as unconstitutional including mandatory requirement of Aadhaar card for opening bank accounts. Justice Chandrachud was the only dissenting judge who pronounced the Aadhaar Act to be unconstitutional.

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