New Delhi, March 13: The deadline for linking national biometric identifier-Aadhaar with Bank Accounts, mobile phone numbers and other essential services has been extended. The Supreme Court on Tuesday extended the March 31 deadline for Aadhaar linkages till the constitution bench delivers judgement on the matter. As per reports, the deadline has been extended until the disposal of Aadhaar case in the Supreme Court.

The Apex Court said, "The mandatory Aadhaar linking with bank accounts and mobile phones will stand extended indefinitely till the judgement is pronounced". The Centre had earlier said that since some more time would be needed to conclude the prolonged hearing in the Aadhaar case, the government may extend the deadline from March 31.

The five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, said the government cannot insist for mandatory Aadhaar.  In the last week, the bench had said that it may not be possible to decide by March 31 the batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar Act since the arguments in the matter would prolong.

The 12-digit Aadhaar is issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and has been made mandatory by the government to avail various services. The Aadhaar has now become a must-have document for all.  Those who have not linked their Aadhaar with the required accounts and documents now have some more time.

To recall, the issue related to exte the sion of Aadhaar linking deadline came up during the hearing of another petition in which the court directed the CBSE not to mandatorily seek Aadhaar number from students for enrolling themselves for appearing in NEET-18 examination.

As per reports, the government on Tuesday told the court that it is open to the idea of extending the March 31 deadline to link Aadhaar with bank accounts and other essential services. The previous deadline for linking bank accounts and mobile numbers was March 31, 2018 but the Centre had recently hinted that it may be extended. On December 15, 2017, the apex court had extended the deadline for mandatory linking of Aadhaar with various services and welfare schemes till March 31, 2018.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 13, 2018 04:35 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).