The Congress has lauded the Supreme Court for protecting the core of the Aadhaar scheme and cutting out “illegal distortions”, arguing the verdict has demolished the government’s plan to use the data as a surveillance tool.

Former Union minister Kapil Sibal described the judgment as a “very big victory” for the people of India.

“We never wanted the Aadhaar Act to be struck down as the marginalised sections of society would have suffered,” he said.

“But we are happy that illegal distortions have been removed. It is unimaginable what the government could have done with the personal data of citizens in future.”

Sibal continued: “We are happy that Section 57, which allowed private parties and corporate (houses) to collect Aadhaar data, has been quashed, putting an end to the abuse of power being exercised by the government. The court has firmly put an end to the mass surveillance exercise being carried out under the guise of Aadhaar by the central government and the grotesque distortion of an idea conceived by the UPA.”

Some Congress politicians privately expressed concern at the six-month leeway given to the corporate world to destroy the personal details collected so far, arguing this period was long enough for the data to be misused ahead of the general election.

Sibal said: “It is a challenge to ensure the data available with private companies are destroyed. Those who allowed this should be brought to book. Why allow this illegality at all? Who will pay for it? The Prime Minister? The finance minister?”

He listed the other positives of the judgment: “Aadhaar cannot be made mandatory for mobile phones and bank-linking. Nobody shall be denied entitlements or disqualified from the benefit of schemes for the absence of an Aadhaar number. This is an endorsement of the Congress vision.”

Sibal highlighted that the majority of judges on the bench had “agreed that the decisions of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha can be subject to judicial review”. “This is the very first time that a constitution bench has held so,” he said. “This marks the beginning of a new era of accountability for the Speaker, who so far was beyond reproach.”

Sibal said the Congress would again petition the Supreme Court if the government tried to present the Aadhaar bill as a money bill in the Rajya Sabha during the passage of the amendments necessitated by Wednesday’s judgment.

“While four learned judges upheld the classification of the Aadhaar Act as a ‘money bill’, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud has dissented, calling it a ‘debasement of the democratic structure’ which renders the act an ‘illegality’,” Sibal said.

The government had classified the Aadhaar bill as a money bill to avoid scrutiny by the Rajya Sabha, where the NDA lacks a majority.

Rahul Gandhi tweeted: “For Congress, Aadhaar was an instrument of empowerment. For the BJP, Aadhaar is a tool of oppression and surveillance. Thank you Supreme Court for supporting the Congress vision and protecting India.”

Leader Abhishek Singhvi said: “The Supreme Court threw the dirty water accumulated by the Modi government but saved the baby. Over 90 per cent distortions of a great idea were rejected….”