The Supreme Court has extended the deadline till March 31st next year for mandatory linking of Aadhaar with various services and welfare schemes.In an interim order today, a five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra also modified its earlier order with regard to linking of Aadhaar with mobile services. The bench said, the deadline of February 6 next year for the purpose also stood extended till 31st March.
The court said, for opening new bank accounts, an applicant will not be required to provide Aadhaar number to the bank.
However, the applicant will have to show the proof to the bank that the person has applied for the Aadhaar number.The apex court said, the Constitution Bench would commence final hearing from 17th January on the petition challenging the Aadhaar scheme itself.
The government on Wednesday issued a notification to extend till March 31 the deadline for mandatory quoting of Aadhaar and Permanent Account Number (PAN) for bank accounts and certain financial transactions.Several petitioners challenging the validity of Aadhaar have claimed it violated privacy rights.
Some petitioners in the top court have termed the linking of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) number with bank accounts and mobile numbers as ‘illegal and unconstitutional’.Recently, a nine-judge constitution bench of the apex court had held that Right to Privacy was a Fundamental Right under the Constitution.