The Aadhaar case is increasingly being viewed as the acid test of the judiciary’s independence. In normal circumstances, to even suggest that the verdict in a particular case provides the opportunity for the highest court in the land to prove that it is impartial and immune to executive pressures could be construed as contempt of court.

But these are not normal times. Rightly or wrongly, disturbing questions have been raised about the Chief Justice of India himself. Four of his brother judges have publically challenged his role as master of the roster and his fairness in allocating sensitive cases.

Moreover, more than 60 members of Parliament from seven different political parties have sought to initiate impeachment proceedings against him and, undeterred by the rejection of their motion, are reportedly exploring other ways to pursue the matter.

Amidst the upheavals within the apex court itself, and the swirling controversy over the government’s decision to block the elevation of a judge recommended by the Supreme Court collegium, the day of final reckoning is fast approaching in the contentious Aadhaar case.

The marathon hearings of the case has entered the decisive final stretch after 35 days of grueling arguments. The five-judge Bench, headed by the Chief Justice himself, will soon have to pass judgment on critical issues of far-reaching consequence - most particularly on whether biometric metadata of citizens should be mandatory or optional for services other than welfare schemes and subsidies.

Virtually every aspect of the Aadhaar conundrum has by now been

argued threadbare. Interestingly, even after a galaxy of legal brains have delved deep over the last 35 hearings into each of the pros and cons, the core issues remain exactly the same even after two years.

It was in February-March 2016 that Jairam Ramesh, at that time a Congress member of the Rajya Sabha, moved and got passed certain amendments to the Aadhaar Bill. However, since the Modi government – for ulterior motives of its own - was adamant to ram mandatory Aadhaar down the nation’s throat, it used its brute majority in the Lok Sabha to reject all the recommendations made by the Upper House.