Aadhaar linking with welfare schemes: Supreme Court to pronounce order Friday
Aadhaar
The order will be pronounced on pleas seeking a stay on the mandatory linking of Aadhaar to avail various welfare schemes
The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its order on a clutch of pleas seeking a stay on the government's decision to link Aadhaar with various welfare schemes.
The order will be pronounced on Friday.
A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said the final hearing on petitions challenging the Aadhaar scheme itself would start from January 17 next year.
Attorney General KK Venugopal, arguing for the Centre, said Thursday that the government was willing to extend the deadline (for the linking of Aadhaar to avail the benefits of welfare schemes) up to March 31 next year.
Venugopal, however, told the bench, also comprising Justices A K Sikri, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Ashok Bhushan, that Aadhaar should remain mandatory for the opening of new bank accounts.
Gopal Subramanium, arguing for the petitioners, said "the voluntary nature of Aadhaar must be underscored. This is an encroachment on judicial path. 139 government notifications have made it compulsory. The sanctity of judicial order must remain intact."
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KTS Tulsi and Anand Grover, also arguning for the petitioners, said "without data protection law, Aadhaar cannot be made compulsory. 210 government websites have been breached once the data is exposed there is no process of rescinding or withdrawing. The agencies obtain this data and further supply it to Pakistan and unverified sources. And if data is breached, Aadhaar cannot protect it.
The government had on Wednesday extended the deadline, till March 31, for the linking of Aadhaar and PAN numbers for bank accounts and certain financial transactions.
There is however no word yet on extending the February 6, 2018 deadline for the linking of mobile SIM cards with Aadhaar.
(With inputs from PTI)