Justice P. Velmurugan said only the media had recently carried news reports of the Supreme Court having directed the High Court to proceed with the hearing on the election petition without insisting on submission of Jayalalithaa’s fingerprints. However, no such order of the apex court had been placed before the High Court so far; he added and directed the High Court Registry to list the case after a month. The thumb drive was submitted just hours before the Supreme Court stayed the High Court’s November 24 order summoning the officials for production of the fingerprints. Though the jailor submitted the fingerprints on that day, the UIDAI told the High Court that there was a statutory bar on sharing core biometric information provided by those who apply for Aadhaar cards. Thereafter, the hearing was adjourned periodically in order to wait for the final decision of the Supreme Court and on Friday, the High Court took note of media reports indicating its orders to have been set aside by the apex court.

Source: The Hindu March 23, 2018 19:35 UTC