The Supreme Court on Monday said it will direct the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to implement the Orissa High Court’s directive across the country requiring a consent form to generate APAAR (Automated Permanent Academic Account Record) IDs to explicitly give parents the option to refuse consent or opt out of the scheme.
The bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and also comprising Justices Joymalia Bagchi and V Mohana, was hearing a plea challenging the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar-linked student identification system on the grounds that, despite being described as voluntary, it effectively forces students to register and raises concerns over privacy and data protection.
Senior advocate Indira Jaisingh, representing the parents of four students, argued that the children are being forced to enroll under an illegal scheme despite the Supreme Court’s 2019 Aadhaar ruling stating that children cannot be forced to take Aadhaar. It asserted that since APAAR IDs are linked to Aadhaar and are allegedly being insisted upon for screening purposes, the voluntary nature of the scheme exists on paper only.
However, the court noted that the scheme appeared to serve a legitimate purpose by creating a unique academic identity for each student to facilitate educational planning and records management.
“Let us not cast doubt on everything in the country; it is a welcome step… Data protection law is in place in the country and no one can violate that… This scheme can help the CBSE headquarters access several important data about students… who teaches what; teacher-child ratio or curriculum implementation,” the jury commented.
While Jaising emphasized the right to be forgotten saying that no one else should have access to students’ results and if they fail in any subject, the court responded that the data cannot be used for purposes other than for which it was collected.
At this point, the senior advocate referred to school publications that stipulate the use of Aadhaar to create APAAR IDs, arguing that this methodology eliminates the necessity of consent.
Jaisingh, with the assistance of lawyer Paras Nath Singh, then pressed a substitute plea, stating that the consent mechanism itself violated the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023, as parents were not given an informed choice to refuse consent or later exercise meaningful control over their children’s data.
Relying on the December 2025 judgment of the Orissa High Court, it urged the Supreme Court to issue directions to implement the safeguards ordered by the Supreme Court at the national level. The Orissa High Court has ruled that if the APAAR scheme is truly voluntary, the consent form must expressly provide parents with the option to refuse participation or to opt out.
Accepting the broad submission, the bench said it would direct CBSE to implement the Orissa HC directions across the country, noting that the Union government had accepted the ruling and was not challenging it.
“We will direct the CBSE to implement this ruling on a pan-India basis… We also direct the CBSE to study the issues raised,” the bench said, adding that a detailed order would follow.
The petition also sought directions to ensure that students who opt not to register under the APAAR scheme are not denied admission, examination registration, mark sheets, certificates or any other educational benefits, besides insisting that any processing of personal data of students is strictly in compliance with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.
