New Delhi: Amid confusion regarding the fate of deadlines for Aadhaar linking, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) said that all notifications for mandatory linking of Aadhaar to bank accounts, PAN cards, mobile phone numbers and for availing various welfare programmes stand valid and lawful.
The UIDAI in a statement on Thursday said that the Supreme Court has not imposed any stay on Aadhaar and its linking to various services.
UIDAI asked people to verify their banks accounts, investment accounts, SIM cards, etc. as per the current deadlines as early as possible to avoid any inconvenience.
The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the setting up of a five-judge constitution bench next week to hear pleas seeking an interim stay on Centre’s decision of mandatory linking of Aadhaar to avail the benefits of various services and welfare schemes.
The matter was mentioned in the morning before a bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra, and Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud.
Appearing for the Centre, attorney general K.K. Venugopal, informed the court that the government was willing to extend the deadline to 31 March for mandatory linking of Aadhaar. The current deadline is 31 December.
No such relief was proposed to be extended by the government to mandatory linking of Aadhaar for availing uninterrupted mobile services. The deadline for linking Aadhaar to avail mobile services is 6 February. The apex court had in November refused to entertain a plea to grant stay on the linking of mobile numbers with Aadhaar.
The deadline for linking Aadhaar for those who do not have an Aadhaar number but are willing to enrol for it is 31 March 2018. They will continue to enjoy the benefits of social welfare schemes till then.
The court is hearing a number of petitions challenging the mandatory linking of Aadhaar in order to avail various benefits under social and welfare schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, window pension schemes, Direct Benefit Transfer, National Eligibility Test-Junior Research. Fellowship, P.G. Scholarship for Professional Courses for SC or ST candidates, Maternity Benefit Programme etc. Aadhaar has also been mandated for opening of bank accounts, transferring the PF amount directly to the saving account and filing of income tax returns.
Earlier this year, the question of ‘right to privacy’ was heard by a nine-judge bench of the apex court. The bench unanimously pronounced that right to privacy is a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution. The judgment would have an important bearing on the Aadhaar hearing as one of the grounds of challenge is that the use of biometric information of an individual encroaches upon the privacy of an individual.
The court on an earlier occasion as well had directed the setting up of a Constitution bench and to hear all the petitions related to Aadhaar linking in November end.
Mint News
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