Mobile Numbers Verified Through Aadhaar Won’t Be Disconnected: UIDAI, Telecom Department

The government will seek re-verification of mobile service customers only if a user opts to replace Aadhaar records with an alternate identity or address proof, the Department of Telecom and Unique Identity Authority of India said in a joint statement on Thursday.

While the Supreme Court has prohibited the issue of new SIM cards through Aadhaar authentication process, there is no direction to deactivate the old mobile numbers, the statement added.

There has been speculation that subscribers enrolled through Aadhaar-based authentication process may have to provide fresh documents to complete their Know Your Customer process again, as the Supreme Court judgment restricted the use of Aadhaar-based verification by private entities.

The UIDAI had given time till Oct. 15 to telecom operators for complying with the apex court order and asked them to close Aadhaar-based verification for their services.

"In the light of the verdict, if anybody wishes to get her or his Aadhaar eKYC replaced by the fresh KYC, she or he may request the service provider for de-linking of their Aadhaar by submitting fresh OVDs (official valid documents) as per earlier DoT circulars on mobile KYC. However, in any case, the mobile number will not be disconnected," the statement said.

It further noted that the apex court has not asked to delete all the eKYC data of telecom customers after six months but has asked the UIDAI to not keep authentication logs for more than six months.