Want to De-Link Aadhaar Details From Banks & Mobile Numbers? Here’s How To Do It!

Aadhaar – whether you subscribe to its utility or not, you can neither wish it away nor ignore it. Since its introduction, the very concept and execution of Aadhaar has been mired in legal battles and controversies. Large sections of the society have come out and spoken about the dangers that such a mass collection of highly sensitive and personal data without proper security measures, access policies and accountability, could lead to.

Over the last few months, various service providers, which include banks, telecom service providers, schools, and even some hospitals have taken every measure to link the 12-digit unique identity number to their services. From getting a SIM card to filing taxes to even getting your pension, Aadhaar details were mandatory, and applicants had no choice but to comply.

All this, while the very point of the issue was being heard by the Supreme Court.

Until the Apex Court’s direction, which you can read about here, there was no clarity on what services mandatorily needed to be linked and what did not.

Many citizens ended up linking their Aadhaar to the service providers for lack of choice – it was that, or you could not access the services. This situation, however, can be remedied.

The Compendium of Regulations of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) states on page 11 under points 5:

“The Aadhaar number holder may, at any time, revoke consent given to a KUA for storing his e-KYC data or for sharing it with third parties, and upon such revocation, the KUA shall delete the e-KYC data and cease any further sharing.”

Furthermore, point 6 makes it abundantly clear that the entities which have received your information will also have to follow the same norms and de-link your number.

After the Supreme Court’s order, new systems have to be put in place to de-link your Aadhaar in an easier fashion. So for now, there is only the provision provided in the original rules.

So do keep in mind, while there is a provision on paper, it might be an uphill battle to de-link one’s Aadhaar details from various service providers for the next few months.

Here are the steps to be followed:

1. You are required to call the customer care numbers of your bank or mobile service provider.
2. You will be asked to send an e-mail with a request to de-link your Aadhaar details from your bank account or mobile service provider.
3. You will then receive an e-mail requesting you to attach a soft copy of your Aadhaar card. Do reply in the same thread.
4. You will receive a mail within 72 hours with details of the de-linking.

Do write and let us know if you have de-linked your account.

(Edited by Shruti Singhal)

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