SC extends Aadhaar linking deadline to March 31

An existing Aadhaar holder will have to furnish his Aadhaar card to open a new bank account, a five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, ordered on Friday.

The Bench extended the deadline for Aadhaar linkage to March 31, 2018 only for non-Aadhaar holders opening new bank accounts. Meanwhile, they can open new bank accounts, provided they furnish proof to the bank of having applied for an Aadhaar card. Proof is in the form of their Aadhaar application form or number.

“Those who already have Aadhaar cannot go on [open a new bank account] without Aadhaar. If they have Aadhaar, they will have to furnish it to the bank,” Chief Justice Misra clarified to senior advocate C.A. Sundaram, appearing for UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India).

“You see, there is no question of producing Aadhaar enrollment application for those who already possess Aadhaar cards,” Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, who authored the interim order for the five-judge Bench, reasoned.

The Bench scheduled the final hearing on 28 separate writ petitions challenging the very validity of the Aadhaar scheme for January 17, 2018.