Aadhaar linking with bank accounts, mobile numbers: Supreme Court extends March 31 deadline indefinitely

In a major relief to those who still haven't linked their Aadhaar cards with bank accounts and mobile numbers, the Supreme Court on Tuesday extended the deadline from March 31 indefinitely till the final judgement in the controversial case. The apex court is hearing the case on the constitutional validity of the government's biometrical identification scheme. 

However, it is still mandatory to link your welfare schemes with Aadhaar to get benefits under Article 7 before the deadline. The SC bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, said on Tuesday that the government can't insist on mandatory Aadhaar linking with mobile phones, passports, PAN, etc.

Just after the SC interim order, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah tweeted that he is not going to link "anything to Aadhaar until I absolutely have to"

In wake of the March-31 deadline, banks, and mobile service providers have been repeatedly calling and messaging customers to link the 12-digit Aadhaar number to avail the uninterrupted services. Though today's order applies for mobile numbers, tatkal passports, and bank accounts, people still have to connect their Aadhaar numbers with welfare schemes like Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, Mid-day Meal Scheme, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005, among others.