His public speech against the fingerprinting and profiling of Indians in South Africa was quoted by the petitioners.

On Martyrs’ Day, Mahatma Gandhi’s public speech against the fingerprinting and profiling of Indians in South Africa was quoted by the petitioners against the Aadhaar scheme as a case of profiling of free citizens by the state.

Arguing before a Constitution Bench, led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, the petitioners quoted the Transvaal Ordinance which required Indians to be subjected to fingerprinting or face imprisonment or deportation.

Senior advocate Shyam Divan and advocate Vipin Nair submitted that they wanted to present a page from history about regressive laws which robbed citizens of their dignity and privacy while “branding them as criminals.” Mr. Divan then read out excerpts from Gandhi’s speech against the Transvaal Ordinance.

The speech had said the Ordinance gave authorities the right to demand a certificate issued under the law at “any point, any time from anyone”.

The certificate was mandatory for Indians to get any service or official work done by any government office. Mr. Divan submitted how Gandhiji found the extraction of fingerprints from free citizens derogatory.

He said a concerted move has been witnessed over the past years to make Aadhaar mandatory for accessing essential services.

Mr. Divan had earlier submitted how the cancellation of Aadhaar now would be tantamount to turning off the switch on a person.