New Delhi, Mar 7: While hearing a petition challenging the CBSE's decision to make Aadhaar mandatory for students appearing in the NEET exams, the Supreme Court on Wednesday said the unique identification number cannot be made compulsory for candidates of all-India-level examinations.

The court's order came while deposing a petition filed by a Gujarat resident Abida Ali Patel. His plea was last month rejected by the Gujarat High Court.

Appearing before the court, Attorney General KK Venugopal said the Centre had not authorised the CBSE to make Aadhaar a mandatory identity proof for candidates appearing in the NEET exams.

Similar to the students of Assam, Meghalaya, Jammu and Kashmir -- who were exempted from the CBSE's order -- candidates from other states can also carry other identity proofs to the exam halls.

Earlier, the Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI), the agency assigned to issue Aadhaar cards, had told the top court that it had not authorised th CBSE to make Aadhaar mandatory for NEET aspirants.

The apex court's order today comes in the backdrop of petitions pending before the Chief Justice of India-led bench challenging the legal validity of Aadhaar.

On Tuesday, Centre told the court that it is "open" towards further pushing the deadline for linking Aadhaar with various services beyond March 31.

"We have extended the deadline in the past too. We can do it again," the Attorney General said, after being asked by the court on what step the government would take if the petitions challenging Aadhaar could not be deposed by March 31.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 07, 2018 06:15 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).