The Supreme Court on Thursday observed that biometric data collection by private agencies for Aadhaar was not a good idea. The court was hearing petitions filed challenging the constitutional validity of the Unique Identification Authority of India scheme.

The court also refused to expedite the hearing when senior advocate Shyam Divan, who appeared for one of the petitioners, sought an urgent hearing citing privacy concerns, reported PTI. “We are not inclined to give immediate hearing as there are limited resources, but biometric data collection by private agencies is not a great idea,” said the bench comprising Chief Justice JS Khehar, Justice NV Ramana and DY Chandrachud.

Though biometric data for Aadhaar cards are collected by private companies, the government has defended the practice saying it is commonplace and that the Centre had taken enough precautions to ensure that information was not misused. The Supreme Court on October 2015 had said that Aadhaar cards can be voluntarily used for welfare schemes, pension schemes and provident funds. The court had also said that it can be used for the Centre’s ‘Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna’. However, a five-judge bench of the apex court had held that Aadhaar cards cannot be made mandatory for certain schemes.