All Aadhaar number linking deadlines extended till March 31, validity hearing in Jan

In the temporary order, the five-judge Constitution bench of SC also extended the linking of Aadhaar number with mobile phone.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday extended deadline for linking of Aadhaar number  various schemes and welfare measures up to March 31 next year.

While announcing the interim order, the five-judge Constitution bench of Supreme Court which was headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra stated that the deadline of February 6 for linking Aadhaar card with mobile services also stands extended up to March 31.

The bench, which also included Justices A K Sikri, D Y Chandrachud, A M Khanwilkar and Ashok Bhushan, said that for the purpose of opening new bank accounts, an applicant will not be required to provide Aadhaar card number to the bank.

However, the applicant will have to produce the proof to the bank that he/she has applied for the Aadhaar number, said Justice Chandrachud, who wrote the unanimous interim order.

Deadline of March 31 will also be applicable to schemes by States. The interim order would be subject to the final outcome of the batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar Act on the grounds of it violating the fundamental right to privacy.

The next hearing on this would take place on January 17, 2018.

The Centre had on Wednesday extended the deadline for mandatory linking of Aadhaar card and PAN for all bank accounts and certain financial transactions by three months till March 31, 2018.

The government had made quoting of the 12-digit Aadhaar number compulsory for old and new bank accounts as well as for any financial transaction of Rs 50,000 and more.

The previous deadline for linking Aadhaar number with different services was December 31, 2017.