The Supreme Court on Friday extended the deadline for linking of Aadhaar to various government schemes, as also mobile phones and bank accounts from December 31 to March 31, 2018.

However, the Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said that those who did not have an Aadhaar number but were opening bank accounts would have to furnish their enrollment numbers for the unique id.

The interim order would be subject to the final outcome of the batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar Act on the grounds of it violating the fundamental right to privacy.

The next hearing would take place on January 17, 2018.