Can Aadhaar be linked with bank accounts? SC to decide

After an RTI reply claimed that the linking of Aadhaar and bank account was not mandatory, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has provided a clarification saying that such linking is in fact mandatory as per the prevention of money laundering rules.

"(RBI) has not issued any instruction so far regarding mandatory linking of Aadhaar number with bank accounts".

Reports in media were doing the rounds which stated that it is not mandatory for the Aadhar card to be linked with bank accounts but RBI has made an official statement over it. Sources in banks said some customers have been holding out on linking their accounts with Aadhaar, waiting for the Supreme Court verdict on the legality of the government order. The reports were based on an RTI application which was filed by a news website.

In June, the Centre had issued a notification that said if a bank account holder failed to link the Aadhaar number by December 31, the account would be frozen until the information was provided to the bank.

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The Reserve Bank of India on Saturday clarified that linkage of Aadhaar number to bank account is mandatory.

The RBI also said that it never issued any such directions and it was the decision of the Central Government to link them. Small accounts can still be opened without the Aadhaar cards. It said in a statement the requirement remained in force under anti-money laundering rules.

The All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) has raised their voice against instructions given by some of the banks to designate certain branches as special cells for enrolment of Aadhaar.

Earlier in the 2017 budget itself, the Central Government had mandated the linkage of Aadhaar with PAN (Permanent Account Number) to prevent people from using more than one PAN to avoid paying tax. Telecom service providers too have been alerting their customers to link their mobile numbers with their Aadhaar numbers by February 6, 2018, citing a circular issued by the Department of Telecom (DoT).