In a recent ruling, the Supreme Court has ordered the Election Commission of India (ECI) to accept the Aadhaar card as a valid document for identification during the Bihar Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, specifically as the 12th accepted form of identification for voters. The court has approved the use of Aadhaar for documentation but has also given the authorities the right to authenticate the Aadhaar card. The Supreme Court clarified that the Aadhaar card cannot be regarded as proof of citizenship.
Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, who heard the case, pointed out that the Aadhaar Act does not consider the card as a citizenship document, despite its acceptance for identity verification purposes within the Representation of the People’s Act. The Supreme Court has directed the ECI to inform its officials about this decision. This ruling addresses complaints from RJD and other parties, who alleged that ECI officials were not accepting Aadhaar cards as a standalone ID for electoral roll inclusion. Earlier, the Supreme Court had allowed individuals excluded from Bihar’s electoral rolls during the ongoing SIR process to challenge their exclusion by submitting Aadhaar cards alongside the required forms. The court specified that objections could be filed using either one of the 11 ECI-listed documents or an Aadhaar card.