The Maharashtra government will roll back its rule requiring companies to list Aadhaar numbers of employees on their identity cards.“We will issue a notification over the next one week to make sharing of Aadhaar numbers on employee ID cards optional,” Rajesh Kumar, principal secretary, labour department of Maharashtra, told TOI on Tuesday.The Maharashtra Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, which came into effect last December, had made it mandatory for companies to list employee Aadhaar numbers on ID cards Section 17 of the Act, which mandated the requirement, was seen as a violation of an August 2017 Supreme Court ruling that privacy is a fundamental right because it is intrinsic to the right of life.The judgment was seen as a blow to Aadhaar.Though the labour department was aware of privacy concerns of displaying Aadhaar numbers on employee ID cards, it came up with the mandatory clause to deal with emergency situations, said Kumar. “Aadhaar numbers on ID cards could be of use in case of accidents or any such sudden event. That was the thought behind the mandate. However, in the current circumstances, we have decided to amend the legislation,” said Kumar.The labour department will issue a notification once all necessary approvals for the amendment come through.“The requirement of Aadhaar numbers on ID cards is also in violation of the draft privacy bill being proposed by the Justice Srikrishna Committee. A sensitive identification number such as Aadhaar being available publicly on one’s ID card is a privacy nightmare,” a privacy lawyer told TOI.Maharashtra’s move to tweak its provisions in the Shops and Establishments Act follows the move by the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government to delink Aadhaar requirement from pension.The Centre has made linking of Aadhaar mandatory for several welfare schemes amidst severe criticism from privacy crusaders.Nandan Nilekani—former UIDAI chairman and an architect of Aadhaar—too recently said the 12-digit unique number need not be made mandatory to avail of welfare schemes and government services.