SIM cards not linked to Aadhaar likely to be deactivated after February 2018

All SIM cards have to be verified with Aadhaar, and all unlinked phones will be deactivated so that criminals, fraudsters and terrorists cannot use the issued SIMs.

The government is moving ahead with linking Aadhaar with mobile SIM cards and all unlinked phones will be deactivated after February 2018, said sources.

People show their Aadhaar cards in Chennai. Aadhaar numbers will have to linked with mobile phones as per orders of the Supreme Court passed in February 2017. (PTI file photo / Representational)

The sources said Aadhaar mobile linkage was being done as per orders of the Supreme Court passed in February this year in the Lokniti Foundation case.

All SIM cards have to be verified with Aadhaar within a year from the date of judgement, with all unlinked phones to be deactivated after February next year, so criminals, fraudsters and terrorists cannot use the issued SIMs.

The sources said biometrics cannot be stored by the mobile operators nor they have access to any of the other personal data.

They said biometrics collected should be encrypted by the telecom company and sent to UIDAI at that moment itself and any storage of biometric by a service provider is a criminal offence punishable with up to three years of imprisonment under the Aadhaar Act 2016.

The government had told the Supreme Court in February that it would put in place, within a year, an effective mechanism for the verification of prepaid mobile users who constitute 90% of the total subscribers.