The government has extended the deadline to link Permanent account number (PAN) with Aadhaar by three months to 31 March, the finance ministry said on Friday.
The government had on Thursday informed the Supreme Court that it was willing to extend till 31 March next year the deadline fixed for mandatory linking of Aadhaar for availing various services and welfare schemes.
The Supreme Court now will be setting up a five-judge Constitution Bench next week to hear several pleas seeking an interim stay on the Centre’s decision of mandatory linking of Aadhaar.
A bench headed by chief justice Dipak Misra was informed by attorney general K. K. Venugopal that the Centre was willing to extend the deadline of 31 December to 31 March next year for linking of Aadhaar with various services and schemes.
The attorney general, however, made clear that 6 February next year would remain the deadline for linking Aadhaar for availing uninterrupted mobile services as it had been mandated by the apex court.
The apex court on 30 October had said that a Constitution Bench would commence hearing on the clutch of petitions against Aadhaar scheme from the last week of November.
Some petitioners in the top court have termed the linking of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) number with bank accounts and mobile numbers as “illegal and unconstitutional”. They had also objected to the CBSE’s alleged move to make Aadhaar card mandatory for students appearing for examinations, a contention denied by the Centre.
