Aadhaar linking deadline may be extended, Centre to Supreme Court
Open to the idea of extending the March 31 deadline for linking of Aadhaar with bank accounts, mobile phones and other services, said Centre to Supreme Court on Tuesday.
“We have extended the deadline in the past too. We can do it again. Let’s see how the hearing proceeds. If required, we can do it again,” attorney general of India KK Venugopal said.
Venugopal said the Centre might extend the deadline after the petitioners demanded an extension. The case may not be decided before March 31 that is for now the last date to link the 12-digit unique identity number with various government schemes and services, he added.
Lawyer for one of the petitioners, senior counsel Shyam Divan, on Tuesday asked the bench to consider the plea because the deadline was nearing and the case was unlikely to be decided by then.
But the bench including justices AK Sikri, AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud and Ashok Bhushan — said it would consider the request in the presence of the attorney general.
Senior advocate Arvind Datar, another counsel for the petitioners, made the request again when Venugopal arrived in court post-lunch.
-PTC News
