'Aadhaar, voter, ration cards considered only for identification': EC justifies SIR in Bihar

Time of India

5 days ago

The
Election Commission of India
has justified its ongoing
Special Intensive Revision
(SIR) of
electoral rolls
in Bihar saying it adds to the purity of the election by "weeding out ineligible persons" from the electoral rolls.
The affidavit filed by the poll panel in a plea challenging June 24 order directing SIR of electoral roll pan-India starting from Bihar said despite legal concerns,
Aadhaar
, voter card and ration card were already being considered by the commission for the limited purpose of identity during the
SIR-2025
exercise.
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"The SIR exercise adds to the purity of elections by weeding out ineligible persons from the electoral roll. The entitlement to vote flows from Article 326 read with Sections 16 and 19 of the RP Act 1950 and Section 62 of the RP Act 1951 which contains certain qualifications with respect to citizenship, age, and ordinary residency. An ineligible person has no right to vote, and thus, cannot claim a violation of Articles 19 and 21 in this regard," the poll panel said in a detailed affidavit.
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It referred to the July 17 order of the top court asking the ECI to consider Aadhaar, voter and ration cards for the purpose of SIR-2025.
"In addition to the legal concerns already articulated hereinabove, these documents are, in fact, already being considered by the Commission for the limited purpose of identity, during the SIR process," it said.
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The ECI continued, "A bare perusal of the enumeration form issued under the SIR Order reveals that the Aadhaar number may be voluntarily furnished by a person furnishing the enumeration form. Such information is utilised for the purpose of identification, in accordance with Section 23(4) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and Section 9 of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016."
Section 23(4) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 stipulates the "electoral registration officer may for the purpose of establishing the identity of any person require that such person may furnish the Aadhaar number given by the Unique Identification Authority of India as per the provisions of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016".
On the other hand, Section 9 of the 2016 Act says Aadhaar number is not evidence of citizenship or domicile, etc.
The poll panel said each and every existing elector, other than migrants who are temporarily absent from Bihar, are provided with their pre-filled enumeration forms at their homes, by Booth Level Officers (BLO), in person.
"That each and every existing elector has the same opportunity to provide all documents including proof of eligibility to the BLO at their place of residence. No elector is put through any hardship in comparison to the persons mentioned above. The same methodology has been utilised for all past SIRs as well. Moreover, the BLOs, BLAs (booth level agents), and volunteers are actively facilitating the obtaining of eligibility documents for all genuine electors who require assistance…," it said.
The poll panel further informed the court that as on July 18, of the 7,89,69,844 existing electors in Bihar, enumeration forms from 7,11,72,660 electors, constituting 90.12 per cent, had already been collected.
"Accounting for deceased individuals, permanently shifted electors, and those enrolled in more than one place, the Form collection phase of the SIR has effectively covered 94.68 per cent of the nearly 7.9 crore-strong electorate in Bihar. The electorate who are untraceable despite multiple visits by the BLOs constitute a mere 0.01% of the total electors. As on July 18, 2025, only 5.2 percent electors remain to submit their filled EFs before the July 25 deadline," it said.