Aadhaar Deadline Extended By Supreme Court: What It Means For You And Me

New Delhi:  The Supreme Court on Tuesday indefinitely extended the deadline to link phone, passport and bank accounts with Aadhaar number. The Aadhaar number, however, must be linked with services like Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), PAHAL for LPG subsidy, and other subsidies to avail their benefits, the top court ruled. It is yet to decide whether linking of the 12-digit biometric number with private and public services is a violation of the right to privacy and till it arrives on that decision, there is no need for you to link Aadhaar with bank account, phones and passports.

The government had earlier fixed March 31 as the deadline to link various support services but with the Supreme Court's means that your accounts will stay functional and the incessant messages from bank accounts and phone networks which read "As per Government of India mandate, please submit your Aadhaar card details by 31/03/2018 to avoid deactivation of your account," should now stop. However, if they still persist, you can safely continue to ignore them till the Supreme Court's judgement on the matter arrives.

However, according to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), your Aadhaar would still be required for opening new bank accounts or applying for Tatkal passports. It tweeted :
 

The Supreme Court on 13th March 2018 has extended the last date for linking of Aadhaar in bank accounts, PAN cards, SIM cards, etc from 31st march 2018 till the date of the final judgement. 1/3

- Aadhaar (@UIDAI) March 13, 2018

As per the Supreme Court's order dated 13th March 2018, the requirement of Aadhaar for opening new bank accounts and applying for Tatkal passports under the relevant laws continues. 2/3

- Aadhaar (@UIDAI) March 13, 2018

However for those who do not have Aadhaar, they are required to apply for Aadhaar and provide the Aadhaar application number while applying for availing the aforesaid services. 3/3

- Aadhaar (@UIDAI) March 13, 2018

While the government has been keen to mandate the use of Aadhaar for everything from filing income tax to the registration of mobile phone numbers and booking railway tickets, campaigners and technology experts have time and again expressed concern about the breaching of privacy and safety of data.

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A group of petitioners have asked the Supreme Court to declare the government's insistence on Aadhaar disclosure as a violation of the right to privacy. In August 2017, the Supreme Court ruled that privacy is a fundamental right, but made it clear that the decision on the constitutional validity of Aadhaar would be taken separately.

Aadhaar, the world's biggest biometric database, was launched in India in 2009 to streamline welfare payments and reduce wastage in public spending.