Aadhaar Card Cannot Be Mandatory To Avail Welfare Schemes, Says Supreme Court

The Supreme Court today repeated its previous stand that the Centre cannot make the Aadhaar card mandatory to avail welfare schemes. At the same time, the apex court also said the government cannot be stopped "from using aadhaar in other schemes like opening of bank accounts and filing of income tax."

The Centre is planning to make the Aadhaar card mandatory for filing income tax returns and applying for a PAN card. Earlier this week, Livemintreported the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government also wants to make Aadhaar mandatory for mobile phone verification.

The apex court said that a seven-judge bench had been set up to hear petitions challenging Aadhaar, but it wasn't possible to do so at the moment.

Also on HuffPost India: