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The Chief Justice promised to to hear applications seeking interim stay on the Centre's move to link Aadhaar with various schemes and services at 2 pm on 14 December.
The CJI had said last week that a Constitution Bench would be set up for a hearing on interim relief.
Lawyer Shyam Divan mentioned these requests were put before the Supreme Court and pointed out that the deadline for linking these services (including bank accounts) was going to expire shortly (31 December 2017). On this basis, he said that interim relief was required until the Supreme Court passes its final ruling on the constitutionality of Aadhaar – which is only expected in 2018.
Once the Supreme Court hears the main case, it may or may not become illegal to ask for mandatory linkage of services, which is why the petitioners have requested a stay on any linkage of Aadhaar to availing services till the main judgment is provided.
The Centre reiterated its earlier proposal to extend the deadline till 31 March 2018 for people who do not have an Aadhaar number. Attorney General KK Venugopal made it clear that this possible extension would not apply to people who have already enrolled for Aadhaar.
The AG also clarified that the last date for linking Aadhaar specifically for mobile services will remain 6 February 2018, which means that there is no change to the status quo.
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) also clarified that the deadline for linking services to Aadhaar remains 31 December 2017.
(With inputs from PTI, ANI)
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