Supreme Court Refuses Interim Stay on Linking Aadhaar, Constitution Bench to Decide Validity

NEW DELHI:
The Supreme Court refused to pass an interim order staying the linking of Aadhaar with mobile numbers and bank accounts. The issue will be decided by a Constitution bench in the last week of November.
The court chastised banks and mobile telephone companies for creating panic by sending customers messages saying their accounts will be deactivated if they don’t link them to Aadhaar. The Centre denied that such messages were being sent.
“I don’t want to say in the presence of media people, but I also get (these) messages,” said Justice AK Sikri, referring to the sometimes umpteen-a-day text messages threatening deactivation for not linking one’s Aadhaar to one’s bank account and mobile phone number. The court asked these institutions to avoid scaring people in this manner, while it was hearing a plea from social activists to restrain the Centre from linking Aadhaar to bank accounts and mobile phone numbers until a Constitution bench decides its validity.
Such a bench is expected to soon hear a bunch of petitions challenging the validity of Aadhaar on the ground that it violated citizens’ right to privacy.
The SC also asked the Centre to direct companies to mention in their text messages, the last date for linking their mobile numbers and bank accounts with Aadhaar. This statement from the SC came a day after the Centre told the apex court that all subscribers had to link their mobile phone numbers with Aadhaar by February 6 under E-KYC verification. The Centre also said on Thursday that showing proof of Aadhaar is mandatory for opening new bank accounts.
The Centre further said on Thursday that it was the SC that had approved the norm for mandatory Aadhaar-mobile phone linkage – with a window of one year – in the Lokniti Foundation case on February 6.
Earlier this week, while hearing a separate petition challenging the mandatory linking of mobile phones with Aadhaar, a two-judge bench of the SC had sought the government’s response on the question in four weeks.