Constitution Bench to hear pleas challenging mandatory linking of Aadhaar tomorrow

Constitution Bench to hear pleas challenging mandatory linking of Aadhaar tomorrow

New Delhi: A Five-judge Constitution Bench will hear pleas challenging mandatory linking of Aadhaar with various govt schemes and welfare measures on Thursday.

Several pleas are pending in the court seeking an interim stay on the Centre's decision of mandatory linking of Aadhaar.

Last week, the Centre extended deadline to link PAN with Aadhaar by three months to March 31. The Centre had already informed the Supreme Court that it is willing to extend till March 31 the deadline fixed for mandatory linking of Aadhaar to avail various services and welfare schemes.

However, the deadline for linking Aadhaar for availing uninterrupted mobile services as it had been mandated by the apex court would remain February 6 next year.

Recently, a nine-judge constitution bench of the apex court had held that Right to Privacy was a Fundamental Right under the Constitution. Several petitioners challenging the validity of Aadhaar had claimed it violated privacy rights.

Some petitioners in the top court have termed the linking of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) number with bank accounts and mobile numbers as "illegal and unconstitutional".

One of the counsel representing the petitioners had earlier said that final hearing in the main Aadhaar matter, which is pending before the apex court, was necessary as the government "cannot compel" citizens to link their Aadhaar with either bank accounts or cell phone numbers.