The Delhi High Court on Tuesday asked the Central Board of Direct Taxes to accept online filing of tax returns without Aadhaar number, The Indian Express reported.

Taxpayers who neither have an Aadhaar nor have enrolled for one should be able to file returns online as authorities have extended the deadline to link Aadhaar and PAN, a bench of Justices S Ravindra Bhat and AK Chawla said.

On June 30, the Central Board of Direct Taxes extended the deadline for linking the PAN with Aadhaar to March 31, 2019. This was the fifth time the government extended the deadline.

Petitioners Shreya Sen and Jayshree Satpute had moved court seeking directions to be able to file returns for their income in 2017-2018 without providing Aadhaar details. They said the website does not have an option to skip this step.

The deadline to file returns for 2017-’18 is July 31.

In May, the Supreme Court reserved its judgement on a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar programme and its enabling law. The apex court has ordered that the deadline for linking the biometric programme to the government’s welfare schemes be extended till it delivers the verdict.

Meanwhile, the Madras High Court on Tuesday allowed nine petitioners to file their tax returns manually without giving their Aadhaar details, PTI reported.