No interim stay on Aadhaar link

Banks, telecom operators to specify extended last date in messages

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay the linking of bank accounts and mobile numbers with Aadhaar.

The government has already extended deadlines for the linkage and, in any case, the Constitution Bench is slated to hold the final hearing on all Aadhaar-related issues in the last week of November; so, there was no need for an interim stay, the court ruled.

All the same, the Bench sought the government's response on four petitions before it, challenging the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar Act.

The court also directed the banks and the telecom operators to specify the extended last date in messages that are sent to customers for linkage with Aadhaar numbers.

"We make it clear that in the messages sent by banks and telecom service providers, the date of December 31, 2017, and February 6, 2018, respectively shall also be indicated as the last date of linking Aadhaar with bank accounts and mobile numbers," the bench said.

Why should we have different deadlines for the linkage when the government has told the court in a recent affidavit that the deadline for linkage was being extended to March 31, asked senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for one of the petitioners.

The court told him that he can raise the issue before the Constitution Bench that starts hearing all Aadhaar matters in the last week of November. The Constitution Bench is to examine whether Aadhaar violates the right to privacy.

The government clarified that the extension of the Aadhaar deadline to March 31 is not for all but for only those who have not taken Aadhaar number but are willing to apply for it.