The deadline for seeding Aadhaar to avail the benefits of banking and various welfare services has been extended until March 31, 2018, the Centre informed the Supreme Court of India.
This announcement was made by the Central Government before a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, which said it may set up a five-judge Constitution bench next week to address several pleas demanding an interim stay on the decision of mandatory linking of Aadhaar.
Prior to this, the government had set December 31 as the deadline to link 12 digit Aadhaar number with bank accounts, Permanent Account Number (PAN)and several other welfare services for the poor.
Also Read: Aadhaar linkage deadlines: All that you need to know
Opposing the demand for putting a stay on Aadhaar seeding, K K Venugopal, Attorney General said that there cannot be a stay on a scheme that is already operational for years. He said this before the bench, comprised of Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, the plea of senior advocate Shyam Divan.
Venugopal pitched for extending the deadline further rather than putting a complete stay.
This extension will be applicable to 139 services that currently have deadline for linking until December 31, 2017.
The extension is most probably include the mandatory linkage of Aadhaar with bank accounts.
Also read: Govt deactivates 11 lakh PAN: Find out how to check your PAN’s status
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