The Supreme Court today extended till March 31 next year the deadline for mandatory linking of Aadhaar with various services and welfare schemes.
A five-judge Constitution Bench headed by
Chief Justice Dipak Misra, in an interim order, also modified its
earlier order with regard to linking of Aadhaar with mobile services and
said the deadline of February 6 next year for this purpose also stood
extended till March 31.
The bench, which also comprised Justices A K
Sikri, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Ashok Bhushan, said that 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 he/she has applied for the Aadhaar number,
Justice Chandrachud, who wrote the unanimous interim order, said.
The apex court said the Constitution Bench
would commence final hearing from January 17 on the petition challenging
the Aadhaar scheme itself.
Yesterday, Attorney General K K Venugopal had
submitted before the top court that the deadline of mandatory linking of
Aadhaar with various services and welfare schemes can also be extended
upto March 31 next year.
Recently, a nine-judge constitution bench of
the apex court had held that Right to Privacy was a Fundamental Right
under the Constitution. Several petitioners challenging the validity of
Aadhaar had 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".
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