RTI reveals RBI never issued any order on linking bank a/c with Aadhaar

Mumbai: Amidst banks and the government urging people to link their Aadhaar with bank accounts by December 31, an RTI query has revealed that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) never issued any directions in this regard.

In reply to an RTI query filed by MoneyLife, the central bank said it "has not issued any instruction so far regarding mandatory liking of Aadhaar number with bank accounts." The RBI was responding to a specific query made for availing copy of the file along with file notings regarding mandatory linking of Aadhaar number with bank accounts.

In a notification dated June 1, 2017, the government had said that bank accounts not linked to Aadhaar will be declared inoperable post December 31.

The RTI query also explicitly asked if the apex bank had taken permission from the Supreme Court for mandatory linking of bank accounts with Aadhaar. The RBI replied saying it has not filed any petition before the SC.

Aadhaar has been a huge point of debate in recent times and its validity has been questioned by many. The Supreme Court has restricted its usage for six schemes (banking services not being one of them). The apex court is also due to hear petitions questioning the validity of Aadhaar.