Aadhaar card linking deadline: Relief coming for public? Here is what govt said

The Centre has told the Supreme Court that if required it might consider extending the March 31 deadline for linking Aadhaar to various government schemes as well as mobile phones and bank accounts. Attorney General KK Venugopal told the Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra hearing a bunch of petitions against the Aadhaar law that the Centre had extended the deadline in the past too and it can do so again.

“If required, we can do it again,” Venugopal said after petitioners challenging the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar scheme sought an extension of the deadline to link the 12-digit unique identity number with various government schemes and services.

The petitioners said the deadline was nearing and the case was unlikely to be decided by March 31.

In a matter related to Aadhaar, the Supreme Court on Wednesday said the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will not insist on Aadhaar-only identification for NEET and other all-India examinations.

A five-judge Constitution bench, headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, yesterday said this while referring to an earlier order by which the government had undertaken that it will not insist on Aadhaar-only identification till the top court decides on petitions challenging the constitutional validity of Aadhaar.

The court said that CBSE will upload the necessary information on their website so that students are not affected.

Besides Chief Justice Misra, other judges on the constitution bench are Justice A.K. Sikri, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar, Justic D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice Ashok Bhushan.

The court order came on a plea by a Gujarat resident Abid Ali Yusuf Bhai Patel who has challenged the CBSE circular mandating Aadhaar-only identity for those appearing for National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) examination for undergraduate medical courses: MBBS and Bachelor of Dental Surgery.

Abid Ali Yusuf Bhai Patel`s niece is a NEET aspirant and the last date of filing the form is Friday (March 9).