Still possible to link mobile phone and bank accounts with Aadhaar: Jaitley

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday said it was possible to restore linking of mobile phone and bank accounts with Aadhaar through legislation.

"By law, it can still be done, provided you do it under the adequate provision," the minister said while addressing Hindustan Times Leadership Summit.

While welcoming the Supreme Court judgement upholding the validity of Aadhaar, he said it was a "very sound verdict" and upheld most of what Aadhaar does.

Referring to the Section 57 of the Aadhaar Act which earlier said the government could authorise private entities to use the unique identification data either by law or contract, Jaitley said the Supreme Court verdict had only struck down the provision of doing so "by contract".

"By law it can still be done... The Supreme Court has permitted Aadhaar linkage in several areas like income tax, based on the principle of proportionality," he said.

"If you are able to show the kind of data in mobile telephony also, it will help, it can happen," he added.

Jaitley, however, did not say if the government was planning to bring a law in Parliament for the purpose.

(With inputs from agencies.)