New Delhi, July 20: The Supreme Court on Monday said it would direct the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to implement across the country the Orissa High Court’s ruling requiring an explicit opt-out option in consent forms for the generation of APAAR (Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry) IDs, reinforcing that the scheme must remain voluntary.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana indicated that appropriate directions would be issued to ensure parents are provided with a clear option to refuse consent while enrolling their children under the APAAR scheme.
During the hearing, the Bench observed that the Orissa High Court’s judgment had been accepted and would be implemented on a pan-India basis. The court also said CBSE would be directed to examine the issues relating to the implementation of the scheme.
The Supreme Court clarified that CBSE circulars concerning APAAR would remain subject to the prevailing legal framework, including the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023. It said the scheme must be implemented in accordance with the applicable law.
The observations came while the apex court was hearing a writ petition filed by the parents of four students challenging the constitutional validity of the APAAR ID scheme and the CBSE’s decision to require APAAR IDs for Board examination registration.
Appearing for the petitioners, senior advocate Indira Jaising argued that although the government describes APAAR as voluntary, its linkage with Aadhaar effectively compels students to obtain Aadhaar in order to receive an APAAR ID. She submitted that making APAAR necessary for Board examination registration amounts to making Aadhaar a condition for exercising the constitutional right to education.
The petition also sought strict compliance with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act while obtaining parental consent for APAAR enrolment, raising concerns over the collection, storage and processing of children’s personal data.
The plea further challenges the APAAR framework as an Aadhaar-linked lifelong academic identifier that could enable long-term tracking and profiling of students. It contends that mandatory implementation for Board examination registration violates the fundamental rights to privacy, education and decisional autonomy under Articles 21 and 21A of the Constitution.
The petition also argues that the scheme lacks statutory backing, does not satisfy the tests of legality, necessity and proportionality laid down in the Supreme Court’s K.S. Puttaswamy judgment on privacy, and infringes the right to be forgotten by creating a cradle-to-career digital identity linked to Aadhaar.
The Supreme Court also noted that the Orissa High Court’s December 2025 judgment had not been challenged. In that ruling, the High Court held that although the APAAR initiative had consistently been described as voluntary, the model consent form did not provide parents with an explicit option to refuse consent. It subsequently directed the authorities to amend the consent form by incorporating a clear opt-out or refusal clause.
