Supreme Court Temporarily Halts Government's Decision to Mandate National ID for Public Services and Social Security Allowances

The Supreme Court (SC) has issued an interim order temporarily suspending the government's decision to mandate the use of the National ID card for accessing public services, including the distribution of social security allowances.

On Friday, a division bench consisting of Justices Dr. Manoj Kumar Sharma and Til Prasad Shrestha ordered that the government's directive to require a National ID card for social security benefits should not be enforced for the time being.

This decision comes in response to a writ petition filed by Advocate Ram Bahadur Rawal and several others. The petitioners expressed concern that delays in the issuance of National ID cards could result in many senior citizens being unable to access their social security allowances if the ID card requirement were imposed.

The government had previously decided to make the National ID card compulsory for receiving social security allowances, obtaining mobile SIM cards, and accessing various public services. This policy was scheduled to begin on July 16, 2024, in 28 districts as part of the first phase, following a decision made by the Council of Ministers on June 6, 2024.

The Supreme Court's interim order means that the implementation of this policy will be paused until further notice.