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Supreme Court Asks Banks, Telcos To Mention Aadhaar Linkage Deadline In SMSs

The apex court also issued a notice to the Centre seeking response on the matter.

Aadhaar Digi Dhan Mela 2016-2017. (Source: UIDAI official website)
Aadhaar Digi Dhan Mela 2016-2017. (Source: UIDAI official website)

The Supreme Court today told banks and telecom service providers to mandatorily mention the deadline for linking bank accounts and mobile numbers to Aadhaar on the SMSes sent to customers, as it heard a batch of petitions challenging the move.

The apex court also issued a notice to the Centre seeking response on the four petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar Act and linking of bank accounts and mobile numbers with the 12-digit biometric identification number. The Centre will have to file its reply within three weeks.

Seeking a stay on linking Aadhaar with bank account and mobile numbers, the petitioners said these messages are creating panic in public.

But the bench hearing the petitions, headed by Justice AK Sikri, refused to grant it.

It said that the main Aadhaar case which challenges the validity of the Aadhaar scheme is coming up in the last week of November, and the deadline for linking bank accounts is Dec. 31,2017. But if the hearing goes beyond the linkage deadline, the petitioners can approach the court to seek relief, it said.

The last date for linking mobile numbers with Aadhaar is Feb. 6, 2018.

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, shall also be indicated as the last date of linking Aadhaar with bank accounts and mobile numbers.
Supreme Court Bench

A Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra had on Monday said that the Constitution bench for hearing of the Aadhaar case will be set up by the last week of November.

Recently, a nine-judge constitution bench of the apex court had held that Right to Privacy was a Fundamental Right under the Constitution. Several petitioners challenging the validity of Aadhaar had claimed it violated privacy rights.

The Centre had on October 25 told the top court that the deadline for mandatory linking of Aadhaar to receive benefits of government schemes has been extended till March 31, 2018 for those who do not have the 12-digit unique biometric identification number and were willing to enroll for it.

Some petitioners in the top court have termed the linking of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) number with bank accounts and mobile numbers as “illegal and unconstitutional.”

With PTI inputs