Supreme Court Asks Election Commission to Accept Aadhaar as Valid Identity Proof in Bihar Voter List Revision

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to accept Aadhaar as the 12th prescribed document for establishing a voter’s identity during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar.

This move allows voters to submit Aadhaar as a standalone identity document, similar to the existing 11 accepted documents, while submitting their enumeration forms during the revision process.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, however, clarified that Aadhaar should not be treated as proof of citizenship. The court emphasized that the ECI can independently verify the authenticity of Aadhaar numbers submitted by voters.

“Let there be no confusion. Aadhaar may be accepted as identity proof, but citizenship must be separately verified. No one wants non-citizens on the electoral roll,” the bench remarked, highlighting the importance of ensuring only eligible citizens are included in the voter list.

The court also instructed the Election Commission to issue necessary directions by the end of the day to formalize Aadhaar’s acceptance in the SIR process.

The top court further questioned the Commission regarding the issuance of showcause notices to polling officials who had refused to accept Aadhaar cards from voters. Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, representing the ECI, argued that 99.6% of the 7.24 crore voters in Bihar’s draft electoral roll had already submitted valid documents, and allowing Aadhaar at this stage would not significantly impact the process.

Referring to the Aadhaar Act, 2016, and the Representation of the People Act, the bench reiterated that Aadhaar can serve as identity proof but not as proof of citizenship.

Earlier, on September 1, the court was informed by the poll panel that voters in Bihar could continue to file claims, objections, and corrections regarding the draft electoral roll—published on August 1—even beyond the September 1 deadline. However, such submissions would be considered only after the final roll is published.

To address concerns raised by political parties and individuals, the court observed that the confusion over the SIR process in Bihar was “largely a trust issue.” It directed the State Legal Services Authority to deploy paralegal volunteers to assist voters and political parties in submitting claims and objections.

According to the ECI’s June 24 schedule, the deadline for filing claims and objections was September 1, and the final electoral roll is set to be published on September 30. Between August 22 and August 30, only 22,723 claims for inclusion and 1,34,738 objections for exclusion were received, the Commission told the court.

Source: Based on inputs from official court proceedings and reports.