How can you make Aadhaar mandatory, we made it optional: SC to Govt
The government in March made providing Aadhaar number a compulsory requirement for filing IT returns, as well as for obtaining the PAN.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Modi government to justify the move to make Aadhaar compulsory for filing Income Tax returns, according to reports.
Rapping the government, the apex court said, “How can you make Aadhaar card mandatory when we have passed an order to make it optional?”
Responding to this, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi said the government had found that a number of PAN cards had been used to divert funds to shell companies. To avoid this, Aadhaar had to be made mandatory.
The apex court then announced it would decide about the mandatory Aadhaar issue on April 26, said the report.
The government in March made providing Aadhaar number a compulsory requirement for filing IT returns, as well as for obtaining and retaining the PAN.
However, in an order dated August 11, 2015, had said that Aadhaar cannot be made compulsory for government schemes.