agencies
New Delhi, Nov 3: The Supreme Court Friday sought the government’s response on four petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar Act and linking of bank accounts and mobile numbers with the 12-digit biometric identification number.
The apex court did not pass any interim order in the matter saying that final hearing in all Aadhaar-related issues would start before another bench in the last week of this month and that the Centre has already extended the deadline till December 31.
A bench comprising Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan, however, said that banks and telecom service providers should indicate the last date of linking bank accounts and mobile numbers with Aadhaar in the messages sent by them to their customers.
“We make it clear that in the messages sent by banks and telecom service providers, the date of December 31, 2017, and February 6, 2018, shall also be indicated as the last date of linking Aadhaar with bank accounts and mobile numbers,” the bench said.
Senior advocate Shyam Divan, who appeared for one of the petitioners, referred to an affidavit the Centre had recently filed and said the government has stated that the deadline for linking Aadhaar may be extended till March 31, 2018.
The bench, however, said the petitioners can raise this issue before the court which would hear all Aadhaar-related matters in the last week of November.
“There is no doubt that these arguments need consideration. The matter is going to come up in the last week of November and the time [to link Aadhaar with bank accounts] has been extended till December 31,” the bench said.
‘Distance tech courses invalid’
New Delhi: The Supreme Court Friday ruled that technical education courses cannot be provided through correspondence courses. The apex court restrained educational institutions from providing courses in subjects such as engineering in the distance education mode, setting aside an order that the Orissa High Court had delivered.
According to reports, the verdict — likely to affect hundreds of distance education centres which have been offering technical courses through correspondence and distance learning — settles the legal position and gives clarity to students opting for such courses. The apex court also hailed a similar ruling by the Punjab and Haryana Court delivered two years ago.