The central government has reportedly hinted that the March 31 deadline for the Aadhaar linkage may get extended if required.
Attorney general K.K.Venugopal told the constitutional bench of the Supreme Court that the centre had extended the deadline in the past and can do it again as well. The news comes after petitioners previously challenging the constitutional validity of Aadhaar scheme, sought an extension of the deadline. They stated that the deadline was nearing and the cases against Aadhar were unlikely to be decided by March 31.
On December 15, 2017, the apex court had directed the extension of the deadline till March 31 for the linking of Aadhaar with bank accounts and mobile phones.
The constitution bench is hearing challenges to the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar scheme in views of the fundamental right to privacy on a bunch of petitions by former Karnataka High Court Judge K.S. Puttuswamy, Magsaysay awardee Shanta Sinha, feminist researcher Kalyani Sen Menon and others.
