Aadhaar not being used to add, delete names from voter list, ECI tells SC

New Delhi: The ECI told the Supreme Court that Aadhaar is being used only to verify the identity of applicants seeking inclusion in electoral rolls, and not as proof of citizenship or basis for adding or deleting names from voter list, a lawyer said on Saturday.

In an affidavit filed in the Apex Court, the poll panel said it has issued clarification and instructions to officials that Aadhaar card should not be used as a basis for adding or deleting names from the voter list as per Section 23(4) of the Representation of the People Act.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) said that Aadhaar card is being used only to establish a person’s identity in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

“The Aadhaar card is not proof of citizenship,” said the ECI in its affidavit filed on Friday for the perusal of a bench headed by Justice Surya Kant, which is seized of the SIR matter.

The Election Commission stated that the mere presence or absence of an Aadhaar card cannot be the reason for adding or deleting a person’s name from the voter list.

The Commission said that the Supreme Court, in its September 8 order, clarified that the Aadhaar card can be used to establish identity.

“Based on this, the Election Commission has issued instructions to the Chief Electoral Officer, Bihar, that the Aadhaar card should be used only for identification purposes and should not be considered as proof of citizenship as per Section 9 of the Aadhaar Act, nor should it be used as a basis for adding or deleting names from the voter list as per Section 23(4) of the Representation of the People Act,” said the affidavit.

The Commission also pointed to UIDAI’s Office Memorandum (O.M.) dated August 22, 2023, which has clarified that Aadhaar is not proof of citizenship, residence, or date of birth.

It further referred to Section 9 of the Aadhaar Act 2016, which states that the Aadhaar number is not proof of citizenship or residence.

Earlier, following the Court’s direction, the ECI issued instructions on September 9, to all Chief Electoral Officers “for usage of Aadhaar Card as proof of identity and not as proof of citizenship in terms of Section 9 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016 and Section 23(4) of the RP Act, 1950 for the purpose of inclusion or exclusion in the revised voter list of the State of Bihar.”

Responding to a petitioner’s plea seeking directions to restrict the use of Aadhaar strictly to identity verification and to bar its use as proof of date of birth in Form-6 applications, the ECI stated that the legal framework already limits Aadhaar to identity purposes and that its instructions align fully with the statutory scheme under the 1950 Act and the Aadhaar Act, 2016.

IANS