A day before a Supreme Court bench takes up petitions opposing mandatory Aadhaar linkage with several government services, the government has withdrawn its December 31 deadline to link Aadhaar with bank accounts. In 'prevention of money laundering (maintenance of records) rules seventh amendment, 2017, rules' the ministry of finance said that people should "submit Aadhaar number and PAN account number, or form 60 by such date as may be notified by the central government".

The rules, brought in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), says that once the government notifies the new deadline for the Aadhaar linkage, all accounts operating without Aadhaar will cease to be operational unless Aadhaar and PAN details are submitted.

On December 7, the government told the supreme court that it is extending the deadline for mandatory linking of the government services (including PAN) with Aadhaar till March 31, 2018. However, news agencies reported, the extension is meant for those who haven't enrolled for Aadhaar yet.

On November 3, the SC had asked the banks and the telecom service providers (TSP) to specify a deadline in their messages for linking accounts with Aadhaar. The apex court clubbed four new petitions related to Aadhaar with the existing petitions and these petitions will be taken up by a constitutional bench of the supreme court by the end of November.