The Election Commission of India (ECI) has apprised the Supreme Court that Aadhaar cards and ration cards could not be accepted as proof of eligibility to vote in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar since they failed to meet the standard required under Article 326 of the Constitution.
The Commission said this in a counter-affidavit filed before the Apex Court on July 21, in response to a batch of petitions challenging the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.
As per the affidavit, Aadhaar card was not included in the list of 11 documents specified by ECI in its June 24 notification as acceptable documents to verify citizenship, since it did not help in screening the eligibility under Article 326 of the Constitution.
Aadhaar could establish the identity of a person, but not citizenship, it said, adding that Aadhaar cards issued after January 2024 carried a statutory disclaimer that reads ‘Aadhaar is not proof of citizenship’.
The Commission relied on several High Court verdicts, including Rani Mistri vs State of West Bengal, wherein the Calcutta High Court held that Aadhaar Card by itself shall not confer any right of or be proof of, citizenship or domicile in respect of the holder thereto.
Noting that Aadhaar numbers were being collected in Bihar during the SIR process, the ECI said it was being done only for the limited purpose of identity verification provided under Section 23(4) of the Representation of People (RP) Act, 1950, through an optional field given in the Enumeration Form.
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