Banks and mobile service providers have to now inform users about the last date to link their 12-digit Aadhaar number with the respective bank accounts and SIM cards. The Supreme Court on Friday ordered this after the petitioners challenging the Aadhaar scheme informed that such random messages from banks and telcos created panic among citizens. However the SC refused an interim stay on the need for linking as the Constitutional Bench of the SC will hear a plea challenging the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar scheme in the last week of November.
The Bench of Justices AK Sikri and Ashok Bhushan directed the Centre to issue instructions to banks and mobile service providers that the message sent to customers should intimate about the deadline of December 31 (for linking bank account) and February 6, 2018 (for linking SIM cards).
Senior advocate KV Vishwanathan informed the judges that such messages are misleading as citizens are getting “panicky”. Attorney General KK Venugopal dismissed the concern saying that this grievance was oral as no instances have been shown in their petitions before the court. lending credence to what the petitioners said, Justice Sikri said, "You may say it is oral, but even I am receiving these messages on daily basis."
The Bench told the A-G, “If the deadline for Aadhaar linkage is extended till December 31, why are banks issuing these instructions.”
However, on the question of extension of Aadhaar linkage deadline to March 31, Venugopal did not agree.
He said the bunch of petitions challenging the Aadhaar scheme and the Act will be heard by the apex court in the last week of November.
The court did not pass any order on extending the deadline but made it clear that if the hearing in the Aadhaar case does not take place in two weeks or fails to conclude before December 31, the petitioners can approach the concerned bench for seeking further extension of deadline.