SC asks Maha why St Xavier's College denied admission to student for Aadhaar

The Supreme Court has asked Maharashtra government to explain why a student was denied admission to Mumbai's prestigious St Xavier’s College due to inability to furnish Aadhaar card.
 
A bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta gave two weeks time to the state government as well as the college authorities to file their response to a petition filed by Mumbai-resident John Abraham.
 
The petitioner's son studied at St Xavier’s College and had already cleared class XI examinations but was denied admission to class XII for want of the Aadhaar card issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India.
 
Senior advocate Sanjay R Hegde and Joseph Aristotle, representing the petitioner, challenged a Bombay High Court order of June 14, rejecting his plea that the college authorities should not deny his son admission to class XII in arts stream for the absence of Aadhaar.
 
The high court had failed to consider that the college authorities acted in complete violation of the Supreme Court’s direction of October 15, 2015, wherein the apex court has made it amply clear that “the Aadhaar Card scheme is purely voluntary and it cannot be made mandatory”, they submitted.
 
The counsel also submitted that the HC did not consider that the college authorities could not show any basis or legal sanctity for their "arbitrary action" by depriving the petitioner’s minor son admission to the college. 
 
“The HC's order defies the judicial discipline and the supremacy of this court,” they contended.
 
The petitioner also submitted that the college authorities failed to produce any regulation which made possession of an Aadhaar card or number mandatory to get readmission.