The Bench extended the deadline for Aadhaar linkage to March 31, 2018 only for non-Aadhaar holders opening new bank accounts. They have time till March 31 to enroll for Aadhaar and produce it before the bank authorities. During the interim, they can furnish their Aadhaar enrollment application to the bank.
“Those who already have Aadhaar cannot go on [open a new bank account] without Aadhaar. If they have Aadhaar, they will have to furnish it to the bank,” Chief Justice Misra clarified to senior advocate C.A. Sundaram, appearing for the UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India).
“You see, there is no question of producing Aadhaar enrollment application for those who already possess Aadhaar cards,” Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, who authored the interim order for the five-judge Bench, reasoned.
The Bench scheduled the final hearing on 28 separate writ petitions challenging the very validity of the Aadhaar scheme for January 17, 2018.
