Linking PAN To Aadhaar Stands, Not Mandatory For Bank Accounts: Supreme Court
Wednesday's ruling by the top court means that individuals will not be required to mandatorily link their bank accounts with Aadhaar.
The top court also said that no private company or bank can ask for an individual's Aadhaar.
The much-awaited verdict on the Aadhaar matter comes after a clutch of petitions challenged the Constitutional validity of the system on the grounds that it violates privacy. (Also read: Aadhaar is treated as unique, says Supreme Court)
The Aadhaar verdict was announced by a five-judge constitution bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.K. Sikri, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice Ashok Bhushan.
The bench had reserved the verdict after hearing the petitions for over 38 days starting January 17 this year.
The compulsory linking of the Aadhaar card with bank accounts, PAN card, welfare schemes and a host of other utilities violates the fundamental right to privacy, a spree of petitions had alleged challenging its validity.
The bench also said that private companies cannot access Aadhaar data. Seeking biometric details does not violate the right to privacy, said Justice Bhushan.
More than 21.08 crore PANs issued by the Income Tax Department have been linked with Aadhaar till Monday, news agency Press Trust of India cited reported citing official figures. The number of total issued PANs stands at over 41.02 crore.
Aadhaar is a unique 12-digit identification number issued to individuals by the Unique Identification Authority of India after storing their biometrics data. The UIDAI uses iris and fingerprint scans to obtain biometric data from an applicants and stores it in a database.
PAN is a 10-digit alphanumeric number issued to assessees by the Income Tax Department. Quoting of PAN for filing income tax return is mandatory. The taxman had in June this year ordered an extension in the due date for linking Aadhaar with PAN to March 31, 2019.
(With agency inputs)
-
Navigating Energy Crossroads: S Jaishankar's Call For Diversified Supply Chains At G20 Ministerial Meeting
As geopolitical fault lines continue to test maritime trade routes and commodity flows, Jaishankar's message remains pertinent: true economic resilience requires open markets, protected transit lines, and a genuine commitment to multilateral cooperation rather than coercion.
-
Why Prashant Jain's 3P Investment Managers Bought 2.5% Stake In This Healthcare Firm
After slowing acquisitions, Entero now has the opportunity to extract greater value from the network. The key, however, will be execution.
-
Taxing A Promise: The Unsettled Story Of GST On Corporate Guarantees
These concerns are particularly relevant for businesses in the infrastructure, real estate, power and EPC sectors, where guarantees run for several years over the duration of the project and involve substantial amounts.
-
Who Will Care When Women Work? That Is The Wrong Question
The debate on women and work becomes strangely patronising when even our most enlightened elites assume that care is a woman's natural duty.
-
AI Disruption Is Exponential, Businesses Need A Margin Of Safety: HDFC AMC's Navneet Munot
According to Munot, one of the biggest challenges in assessing AI's impact is that the pace of change is exponential rather than linear.
-
The AI Race Is Bigger Than AI Models | The Week In Whys
The AI race and the humanoid race may look like two different technology stories. But underneath, they are increasingly about the same thing: who controls the ecosystem needed to build the technology.
-
FCNR Deposits Beat Estimates, RBI To Pull Out Rs 6-7 Lakh Crore: Pranjul Bhandari
HSBC's chief India economist says the central bank must drain up to Rs 7 lakh crore of surplus liquidity within a fortnight, either through a cash reserve ratio hike or dollar sales, as Foreign Currency Non-Resident (Bank) deposits far outpace expectations
-
Joining The Dots | CAS Turmoil, The Large-Cap Debate And Zee's Almost Rs 22,000-Crore Haircut
Time bends on Dalal Street, Dylan's lyrics haunt the large-cap debate, and Zee's promoter picks up the bargain of the year.
-
India Wants To Be Vietnam; Vietnam Wants To Be China | The Reason Why
India may become a global hub for smartphones. It could also make more camera modules, batteries and semiconductor packaging over the years.
