Accept Aadhaar as 12th valid document for voter roll revision in Bihar: SC tells ECI

The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Election Commission of India to accept Aadhaar as the 12th valid proof for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar along with the 11 other documents it has permitted to be presented for identification purposes. The top court, however, added that the Aadhaar card is not proof of citizenship, and the ECI is entitled to verify if it is genuine. The bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, however, made it clear that Aadhaar will not be considered as proof of citizenship, and said that the EC will be entitled to verify the authenticity of the Aadhaar card.

“Aadhaar card is not proof of citizenship. However, keeping in view S.23(4) of the RP (Representation of People) Act, Aadhaar card is one document for the purpose of establishing identity of any person…The Aadhar card…shall be accepted for establishing the identity of any person for inclusion or exclusion in the revised voters list of state of Bihar,” the bench ordered.

‘Authorities entitled to verify authenticity of Aadhaar card’

“The Aadhaar card, in this regard, shall be treated as the 12th document by the authorities. However, it is clarified that the authorities shall be entitled to verify the authenticity and genuineness of the Aadhaar card itself,” it stated. The case has been posted for the next hearing on September 15.

The bench passed the interim order after considering the response of Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD), AIMIM and other petitioners on the poll panel’s submission that 99.5 per cent of the 7.24 crore electors in the draft electoral roll of Bihar had filed their eligibility documents in the SIR exercise.

Appearing for the RJD, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal said that though the court had earlier directed that Aadhaar must be accepted as proof of identity in addition to the other 11 documents, it was not being done so and alleged that this amounted to contempt of Supreme Court orders.

‘99.6% of Bihar’s 7.24 crore voters have already submitted requisite documents’

Appearing for the ECI, Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi argued that the poll body had the power to examine citizenship for the purposes of the voters list and that Aadhaar cannot be accepted as proof of citizenship.

Dwivedi said that 99.6 per cent of the 7.24 crore voters in Bihar have already submitted the requisite documents. Aadhaar was allowed for those excluded in the draft, but no one had any complaint that a large number of persons were excluded, he added.

Justice Kant said the ECI need not treat the Aadhar card as proof of citizenship but only for identity purposes. “Law is very clear on Aadhaar. Aadhaar is one of the official documents… You (ECI) will take it and examine it,” he said.

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‘Genuine citizens of this country are entitled to vote’

Acknowledging concerns expressed by the EC about the genuineness of Aadhaar, Justice Kant said the poll body was free to verify it. “Those who are genuine citizens of this country, they are entitled to vote. Those who are claiming citizenship on the basis of forged documents, they are not,” the judge added.

Justice Bagchi said that one of the provisions of the Representation of People Act specifically refers to Aadhaar as a document of residence. Except for the birth certificate and passport, the other documents in the list of 11 specified by the ECI were not documents of citizenship, he said.

SIR has become a major political flashpoint ahead of the Bihar assembly elections scheduled for later this year.

While the government has accused the Opposition of politicising electoral reforms, the Opposition contends that the SIR’s timing, methodology and documentation requirements threaten the fundamental right to vote of genuine electors, particularly among the poor, migrants, and minorities.