New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India (SCI) here on Tuesday extended indefinitely the March 31, 2018 deadline for mandatory linking of Aadhaar tobank accounts, mobile phones and tatkal passports until a five-judge constitution bench pronounces its verdict on the validity of the biometric authentication programme.
The SCI is currently in the process of hearing a clutch of petitions that challenge the validity of the Aadhaar scheme.
SCI is currently in the process of hearing a clutch of petitions that challenge the validity of the Aadhaar scheme. Two weeks in so far, the petitioners’ arguments are due to finish on Wednesday.
In reported interim order the court has said that the government cannot insist on mandatory Aadhaar linkages – unless it is for the express purpose of subsidies – until the bench finally decides one way or the other.
However, Aadhaar will still be a must for “social schemes and subsidies” as under section 7 of the Aadhaar Act.
Way back in December 2017 in a similar interim order, the SCI had extended the mandatory linking of Aadhaar with various services and welfare schemes until March 31, 2018. With the new interim order, this deadline now stands extended indefinitely till the court decides one way or the other, notes The Wire in its report.
Apparently. the confusion will still prevail that is, the scheme which was earlier introduced as a voluntary exercise specially to keep a check on discrepancies in public distribution system for social and other government sponsered benefits and subsidies. But why all of a sudden is this scheme is being forced upon the general public of the Indian union that too by keeping a gun on their head still remains to be answered.