Supreme Court Extends Mobile Verification to March 31

New Delhi, December 15: The Supreme Court on Friday extended deadlines for linking of Aadhaar with mobile services and the opening of new bank accounts until 31 March 2018.

Deadlines for linking with existing bank accounts, PAN (permanent account number) cards and welfare schemes were already extended to 31 March by the government.

The government had earlier set a deadline of December 31 for Aadhaar-linking. On Wednesday, the government told the court that the deadline can be pushed to the end of March.



The court today also ruled that new bank accounts could be opened without an Aadhaar ID number, but that it has to be furnished by March 31.

The order is an interim or temporary one, which will be in effect till the court decides whether making Aadhaar - a biometric identification programme - mandatory for welfare schemes and financial transactions, like getting a loan or filing taxes, violates the constitutional right to privacy. Final hearings on the constitutional validity of the program are set to begin on January 17.