In a relief to millions of consumers who are yet to be coerced into linking their SIM cards with their Aadhaar numbers, the government has given instructions to telecom operators to accept other identification documents like driving license, passports and voter ID cards for the purpose of verifications. "Mobile companies have been asked to follow the instructions immediately so that consumers are not inconvenienced," telecom secretary Aruna Sundararajan told TOI.
“The ministry has issued instructions to all telecom companies, asking them not to deny a SIM card to any individual who does not have an Aadhaar number. We have asked them to accept other forms of KYC (know your customer) documents, and continue to issue SIM cards,” Sundararajan was quoted as saying.
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The fresh instruction comes in the backdrop of the Supreme Court claiming a few days ago that the government had misused its former order on SIM verification to force consumers into linking their SIM cards with their Aadhaar cards. The Supreme Court had clarified that Aadhaar is not mandatory for getting SIM cards until it takes a final view. The final Supreme Court decision on Aadhaar's mandatory linking is expected only after the marathon hearing on Aadhaar, which is currently underway in the Supreme Court, concludes.
Earlier in February 2017, on a PIL filed by Lokniti Foundation, the Supreme Court had said that mobile users needed to be verified in the interest of national security. However, the government took this order to coerce consumers into linking their SIM cards with their mobile numbers. A notification was also issued by the Department of Telecommunications to the telecom services in the country regarding this.
Ever since, the mobile companies had been insisting on Aadhaar verification and were declining any other identification documents.