Consider Aadhaar as 12th prescribed document for Bihar SIR: SC to EC

The Supreme Court on Monday, 8 September, has once again asked the Election Commission (EC) to recognise Aadhaar as the 12th document of identity for voters in the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in poll-bound Bihar.

A bench of justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi clarified that Aadhaar would serve only as proof of identity, not citizenship. The EC has been asked to issue directions during the day for its acceptance.

Currently, 11 documents are prescribed for the SIR exercise. The bench stressed that only genuine citizens should be enrolled, adding that forged documents must be weeded out to prevent illegal immigrants from entering the rolls.

The court also sought the EC’s explanation for showcause notices issued to officials who had refused to accept Aadhaar cards from voters.

Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, representing the EC, argued that 99.6 per cent of the 7.24 crore voters in the draft roll had already submitted documents, and adding Aadhaar would serve little practical purpose.

Citing the Aadhaar Act, 2016, and the Representation of the People Act, the bench reiterated that Aadhaar cannot prove citizenship but can be used as valid identification.

On the issue of claims and objections, the bench termed the confusion “largely a trust issue” and asked the Bihar State Legal Services Authority to deploy paralegal volunteers to assist voters.

The EC had earlier opposed extending the 1 September deadline for claims and objections under the SIR schedule. As per data submitted, only 22,723 claims for inclusion and 1,34,738 objections for exclusion were filed between 22 August and 30 August.

According to the EC’s timeline, the final electoral roll for Bihar will be published on 30 September.

With PTI inputs