The Supreme Court today said the Aadhaar card can't be made mandatory by the government for extending the benefits of its welfare schemes to the people.

The apex court, however, said the government cannot be stopped from using Aadhaar - or the the unique identification number - in other schemes like the opening of bank accounts.

Last week, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said the Aadhaar card may become the only identity card in future, and will be mandatory for filing of Income Tax returns to curb tax evasion and frauds.

Replying to the debate on the Finance Bill in the Lok Sabha, Jaitley said that Aadhaar may become the only card in future replacing all other types of identity cards such as Voter ID and PAN cards.

The government has also said the Aadhaar card is a must for anyone seeking to obtain or renew a driver's license, a new telephone number as well as for existing connections to stay operational after February 2018.

In a controversial decision, it has also been mandated for children to get their mid-day meals and for 11 other government schemes.

The critics of Aadhaar claim the government is violating a Supreme Court order of October 2015 which specified that the Universal Identification Document cannot be made mandatory for government schemes.

The Supreme Court today said it will set up a seven-judge bench to hear the pleas challenging Aadhaar. "But right now, it is not possible," a bench of Chief Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar, Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said.

Senior counsel Shyam Divan had challenged a spare of orders issued by the government making Aadhaar mandatory to access benefits under various schemes.

The apex court refused to give an early date to hear a petition on making the biometric-based identity number mandatory, saying it would hear the case in due course of time.

A number of Opposition parties walked out of Lok Sabha last week, accusing the government of forcing Indians to get Aadhaar cards.

After PAN, mobile numbers, Aadhaar now to be mandatory for driving licenses: Report