Latest News – RBI Takes a U Turn, Clears Aadhaar Air, Says Linking Mandatory for Bank Accounts
RBI on Saturday issued a clarification, saying linking of Aadhaar with bank accounts was mandatory in cases under prevention of money-laundering rules. The central bank was responding to news reports that quoted an RTI reply on linking the 12-digit biometric number with accounts by December 31“Some news items have appeared in a section of the media quoting a reply to a RTI application that Aadhaar number linkage with bank accounts is not mandatory. The Reserve Bank clarifies that, in applicable cases, linkage of Aadhaar number to bank account is mandatory under the Prevention of Money-laundering (Maintenance of Records) Second Amendment Rules, 2017 published in the Official Gazette on June 1, 2017,” the central bank said in a tweet.
These rules have statutory force and, as such, banks have to implement them without awaiting further instructions.
Should you wait for the Supreme Court ruling then?
Considering that the rule to make Aadhaar mandatory for opening new accounts has already been enforced by banks following the finance ministry directive, it would appear that as per current situation, existing account holders will not be given an exemption.
Source: ET
