NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court on Tuesday came to the aid of income-tax payees who don't have an Aadhaar or don't wish to link it with PAN owing to privacy or other concerns. The court asked the I-T department to make changes in its e-filing portal and have an "opt out" button to enable filing of IT returns without Aadhaar linkage since the Supreme Court is yet to decide the scheme's constitutionality.

A bench of Justices S Ravindra Bhat and AK Chawla allowed the plea of two women petitioners, Shreya Sen and Jayshree Satpute, to file their IT returns without Aadhaar. The women had moved the court saying they have not been able to file their IT return since there is no available option to opt out of providing an Aadhaar number during e-filing on the website. "The constitutional vires of the Aadhaar scheme is pending challenge before a constitutional bench... The petitioners are awaiting the judgment...," their plea informed the HC.

