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The Wire
14-07-2025
- Politics
- The Wire
Essential Yesterday, Excluded Today: Bihar SIR Reveals EC's Flip-Flop Over Laws on Aadhaar
The poll body has kept Aadhaar out of its Bihar electoral roll revision exercise and resisted its inclusion in court, even as it had made Aadhaar-linking mandatory for voter ID in March. Election Commission of India. New Delhi: While the Aadhaar cards have essentially been made mandatory in India for any service, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has suddenly displayed its strong resistance to the identification document as it continues with the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise of the voter rolls in Bihar. This has brought into focus the poll body's confusion and consequent flip flop on the identification document. According to the UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India) website, Aadhaar coverage in Bihar is at 94%. The Wire has reported that BLOs (block level officers) are taking only Aadhaar even from those who have valid documents while conducting the exercise in the state. Yet, the Election Commission has not listed the document in its list of 11 required for the exercise . It also resisted its inclusion in court. This, despite the poll body as recently as in March had set the ball rolling to link voter records with Aadhaar. Prior to that, the Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021, had amended The Representation of the People Act to include Aadhaar. In 2022m the Registration of Electors (Amendment) Rules, 2022, that followed the Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021, also made Aadhaar linkage mandatory by default by bringing in Form 6B. EC's resistance in court to Aadhaar inclusion in Bihar SIR On July 10, the Supreme Court asked the Election Commission to consider accepting the Aadhaar card, voter ID card and ration cards for its roll revision exercise in the poll bound state ahead of assembly elections in November. This was after the 11 documents list sought by the Election Commission as proof of place or date of birth for voters who were not on the 2003 rolls did not include these three documents. During the hearing, the poll body said that Aadhaar is not proof of citizenship and only of identity as petitioners questioned its exclusion from the list of 11 documents along with the voter ID. "Aadhaar card cannot be used as proof of citizenship," senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, counsel for the Election Commission said in court. "It only shows I am I and you are you," he said pointing to the Aadhaar Act, 2017, which said that the card was not proof of citizenship or domicile. 'Aadhar is not proof of citizenship or domicile. Once all the application forms have come then the stage of objection and claims will begin. If someone objects that this person is not who he claims to be then Aadhar can be used,' he further said. Dwivedi said that Aadhaar can be issued even to non citizens that are resident of India. 'If there is an objection with respect to my form that you are not Rakesh Dwivedi then I can take out my Aadhar and show,' he said. During the hearing, Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia, who was hearing the petitions along with Justice Joymalya Bahchi, pointed out how caste certificate, which is based on Aadhaar, was on the EC's list of 11 documents, but "Aadhaar is not". 'If I want a caste certificate, I show my Aadhaar. A document that like Aadhaar, considered basic for getting other documents, is not part of the 11 documents? Caste certificate is one of the documents among the 11, but not Aadhaar? The entire exercise of SIR is about identity only. You want to know whether this person is A or B,' said Justice Dhulia. 'They are all meant to prove your identity. Yet, you (ECI) stridently oppose the inclusion of Aadhaar… You can do your work, but do it in accordance with the mandate of law. The statute, Representation of People Act, allows Aadhaar,' Justice Bagchi said. Not proof enough? While article 326 of the Constitution states that voting rights can only be given to Indian citizens, sections 23(4), 23(5) and 23(6) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, pertain to inclusion of names in the electoral rolls. The Representation of the People Act, 1950, was amended through the Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021, to include subsections 4, 5, 6 under Section 23 that pertained to linking Aadhaar with electoral rolls on a voluntary basis. In short, Aadhaar was made mandatory for people to have voting rights. In March, while admitting that Aadhaar is not a proof of citizenship and only of identity, the Election Commission set the ball rolling for linking Aadhaar with voter ID despite concerns of disenfranchisement and exclusions. It then said that the linkage will be done only as per the 'provisions of Article 326 of the constitution and Sections 23(4), 23(5) and 23(6) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and in line with the Supreme Court judgement in WP(civil) No. 177/2023.' The Wire had then reported how voluntary Aadhaar linkage is already implicitly mandatory, while concerns of duplication are unlikely to be fixed by a technological solution through a database that itself has been prone to duplication, requiring instead a physical solution. After the Representation of the People Act, 1950, was amended through the Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021, the Registration of Electors (Amendment) Rules, 2022, that followed the amendment stated that collection of Aadhaar numbers remains on a 'voluntary basis' but also brought in Form 6B 'for collecting Aadhaar number of existing electors to authenticate the entries in the electoral rolls and thus make it absolutely error free.' Form 6B, however, makes Aadhaar linkage mandatory by default by presenting only two choices – either provide your Aadhaar number or state that you are not able to provide it 'because I don't have Aadhaar number'. 'Law amended to include Aadhar now kicked out' Raising the issue of the amendment to include Aadhaar, senior advocate Gopal Sankarnarayanan, appearing for one of the petitioners in Bihar SIR case, pointed out to the Supreme Court, that while Aadhaar is an acceptable document under the Act, the Election Commission is not accepting it in the Bihar exercise. "I am not claiming that Aadhar is a proof of citizenship for a person (who) has not been on the electoral roll. But it is proof of authentication for someone who is already on the roll," Sankarnarayanan said. The 11 documents sought by the EC are: birth certificate, passport, matriculation certification, permanent residence certificate issued by a state authority, forest rights certificate, caste certificate, National Register of Citizens or NRC (wherever it exists), family register prepared by state/local authorities, any land/house allotment certificate by the government, any identity card or pension payment order issued to a regular employee or pensioner of central government/state government/PSU, or any such identity card/certificate/document issued by the government/local authorities/banks/post office/LIC/PSUs prior to 1 July, 1987. A matriculation certificate does not prove citizenship. Meanwhile, another five – the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe certificate, Forest Rights Certificate and Permanent Resident Certificate (or Domicile Certificates) – do not display the date of birth or place of birth of an applicant. Congress' Rajya Sabha MP and counsel for one of the petitioners, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, while addressing a press conference on Saturday (July 12) said that the law was amended to embrace Aadhaar but it has been 'kicked out'. 'The amazing part is that for the last 15 odd years or 12 odd years, we have been living, breathing, acting, sleeping, and waking with Aadhaar. Some years ago the Representation of the People Act was amended and Section 23(4) was added to say that Aadhaar is a valid card,' he said. 'And now this document violates the statutes and it is optional and it may be there it may not be there and other citizenship documents will be looked at? Election Commission voter ID card is to be ignored, so also ration card. You amended the law to embrace Aadhaar and kicked it out of the main bazaar. In 12 years, billions are linked yet Aadhaar is not good enough for a voter's ink,' he added. The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
Time of India
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
How can EC decide citizenship issues of voters? asks SC
NEW DELHI: With opposition parties alleging SIR of electoral rolls of Bihar was a "citizenship screening exercise" and EC refuting the allegation and contending that being a citizen was the primary criterion for being a voter, Supreme Court Thursday asked whether the poll panel could venture into the citizenship issue which comes within the jurisdiction of home ministry. When senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, for EC, justified the poll panel's decision to exclude Aadhaar as a valid document for the electoral roll revision, saying Aadhaar could not be accepted as proof of citizenship, a bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi replied, "But citizenship is an issue to be determined not by the EC, but by the home ministry." SC said there was nothing wrong in EC purging electoral rolls through an intensive exercise in order to see that non-citizens don't remain on the rolls. Senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for Congress and other opposition parties, said EC was undertaking a citizenship screening exercise. He said voters in the list were presumed to be citizens of the country and that presumption could not be taken away by the EC. Echoing him, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, for RJD neta Manoj Jha, said there was a procedure under Citizenship Act which had to be followed in deciding citizenship disputes and a person who participated in more than 10 elections since 2003 could not be doubted not to be a citizen without any proof to the contrary. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like You Won't Believe the Price of These Dubai Apartments Binghatti Developers FZE Get Offer Undo They said the SC ruling and guidelines framed in 1995 in Lal Babu Hussein case were not being followed by EC. They said SC had held that a person whose name was there on the roll and was intended to be removed must be informed why a suspicion had arisen with regard to his status as a citizen so that he may be able to show that the basis for the suspicion was ill-founded. "The officer holding the enquiry shall bear in mind that the enquiry being quasi-judicial in nature, he must entertain all such evidence, documentary or otherwise, the concerned affected person may like to tender in evidence and disclose all such material on which he proposes to place reliance, so that the concerned person has had a reasonable opportunity of rebutting such evidence. The concerned person, it must always be remembered, must have a reasonable opportunity of being heard," SC had said on electoral registration officers holding inquiry on citizenship issues.
India Today
10-07-2025
- Politics
- India Today
Aadhaar part of Bihar roll forms, but doesn't prove voter eligibility: Poll panel
The Election Commission on Thursday told the Supreme Court that Aadhaar and Voter ID cards are already part of the documentation process under the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar. The poll body also reiterated that Aadhaar, while helpful in verifying a person's identity, does not prove their eligibility to per the court's own judgment, Aadhaar is only a proof of identity. It merely confirms the identity of a person, but it is not proof of citizenship or voter eligibility, senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the Election Commission, submitted before the bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Supreme Court, while hearing multiple petitions challenging the SIR drive, asked the poll panel to also consider widely held documents like Aadhaar, Voter ID and ration cards during the verification process. 'Therefore, in our view, since the list is not exhaustive, it would be in the interest of justice if the Election Commission also considers the following three documents — Aadhaar card, Voter ID card, and ration card,' the bench said in its and other senior counsels, representing the Election Commission, objected to this part of the order, noting that Aadhaar cannot be accepted as proof of citizenship. In response, Justice Dhulia clarified, 'We are not saying you have to. It is up to you to consider. We are saying it looks that way. They are genuine. If you have a good reason to discard, then discard it. But give reasons.'Meanwhile, senior officials in the Election Commission dismissed concerns about Aadhaar and voter ID not being included in the provision to include Aadhaar number is clearly there in the SIR notification, on page 16,' top poll panel sources said.'The notification is 19 pages long. The last three pages contain the forms meant for general voters. Page 16 is where the form begins. At the top left, voters are asked to fill in name, address and EPIC (Election Photo Identity Card) number. Below the photograph, the form requires the date of birth, Aadhaar number and mobile number,' sources said.'So, the controversy about Aadhaar and Voter ID being excluded is baseless,' the official IN SUPREME COURTThe Supreme Court on Thursday did not pause the SIR process and noted that the Election Commission is constitutionally empowered to carry it out. 'We cannot stop a constitutional body from doing what it is supposed to do. Simultaneously, we will not let them do what they are not supposed to do,' the court it raised serious concerns about the timing of the drive, with Bihar scheduled to go to the polls in November 2025. 'Why is this being undertaken just months before elections, when the exercise could have been initiated much earlier?' the bench asked. 'If you are to check citizenship under the SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar, then you should have acted early. It is a bit late.'advertisementThe court said it would hear the matter in detail on July 28 and identified three key issues - the Election Commission's powers to undertake the exercise, the procedure and manner in which it is being conducted and the timeline - particularly the short window for objections and finalising voter advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for the NGO Association for Democratic Reforms, challenged the very legality of the SIR, saying it was an arbitrary and unprecedented move that disproportionately targets those who enrolled after 2003. He also questioned why widely used documents like Aadhaar and voter ID - already accepted in public services and under electoral rules - were not clearly advocates Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Shadan Farasat and Vrinda Grover also criticised the Election Commission's approach as 'exclusionary.'Sibal cited Bihar government data which showed that 'only 2.5 per cent of the population hold passports and fewer than 15 per cent possess matriculation certificates', both among the documents the Election Commission is prioritising. Grover described the process as 'exclusionary rather than inclusionary,' while Singhvi said disenfranchising even a single eligible voter would 'undermine democratic integrity and violate the basic structure of the Constitution.'advertisementJustice Dhulia noted the contradiction in rejecting Aadhaar while relying on documents that are Aadhaar-based: 'Even the documents you are accepting are ultimately based on Aadhaar... There is a contradiction in excluding a document which is deeply embedded in other accepted forms of identity.'Dwivedi responded that verifying voter credentials is the Election Commission's responsibility under Article 326 of the Constitution and stressed that Aadhaar alone cannot establish citizenship. But the court pushed back: 'Determination of citizenship lies with the Ministry of Home Affairs, not with the Election Commission.'The poll body assured the court that 'no final electoral roll will be published' until the matter is heard fully. Dwivedi also said, '60 per cent of voters have already verified their credentials,' and that 'no one's name will be removed from the electoral roll without giving them a hearing.'The bench concluded by observing that while the Election Commission's powers are valid, the timing and execution raise concerns. 'We are not doubting your sincerity, but there are perceptions. This exercise goes to the root of democracy and the power to vote,' the court said.- EndsTune InMust Watch IN THIS STORY#Bihar#Supreme Court#Bihar Assembly Elections
Indian Express
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
SC says Bihar rolls revision can continue, but asks EC to consider Aadhaar, voter ID, ration cards in list of documents
The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to stop the Election Commission of India (ECI) from proceeding with the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, where assembly elections are due. A Bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi asked the poll body to consider Aadhaar, voter ID and ration cards for the purpose of updating the rolls, but left it to the discretion of the ECI whether to accept or reject them. The Bench said this after Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the ECI, submitted that the list of 11 documents to be considered for the revision exercise is not exhaustive. The court directed that the matter be listed for hearing again on July 28, before the draft roll is published. Intensive revision refers to the de novo preparation of the electoral roll from scratch through personal, house-to-house field verification by electoral registration officers. Under the Bihar SIR, those who were on the 2003 electoral rolls need only submit an extract from it as proof, while others (enrolled after 2003) must provide one or more documents from a list of 11 (along with a pre-filled enumeration form for existing electors) to establish their date and/or place of birth – which, in turn, is used to determine citizenship. 'After hearing both sides, we are of the prima facie opinion that three questions are involved in this case: (a) The very powers of the election commission who under take the exercise, (b) the procedure and the manner in which the exercise is being undertaken, and (c) the timing, including the timings given for preparation of draft electoral rolls, asking objections and making the final electoral roll, etcetera, which is very short considering the fact that Bihar elections are due in November…', the court said in its order. 'We are also of the considered view that the matter needs a hearing. Therefore, let it be fixed before the appropriate bench on July 28. Meanwhile, the counter affidavit will be filed by the Election Commission within one week from today, that is, on or before July 21, and a rejoinder, if any, be filed before July 28,' it added. '… Mr Rakesh Dwivedi himself has pointed out that the list of documents which are to be considered by the Election Commission for verification of a voter includes 11 documents, but the list is not exhaustive… therefore, in our view, since the list is not exhaustive… it would be in the interest of justice that the election commission will also consider the following 3 documents such as the Aadhaar card, the EC voter ID card (EPIC card) which is issued by ECI, and ration card as this itself will satisfy most of the petitioners,' it said. Dwivedi said the order mentioning additional documents may create hurdles as the process is already underway. He said it was not necessary to name the additional documents. But Justice Dhulia said, 'We are saying it's up to you to consider it. If you have good reasons to discard it, discard it, give reasons.' The petitioners said they are not pressing for an interim stay at this stage as the draft electoral rolls are to be published only on August 1. Dwivedi said the petitioners had clearly asked for an interim stay and, therefore, the court should make it clear that ECI can go ahead with the process. 'We have said it. You go on,' remarked Justice Dhulia. The petitions against SIR were mentioned before the Bench by senior advocates Kapil Sibal, A M Singhvi, Gopal Sankaranarayanan, and Shadan Farasat. Appearing for one of the petitioners, Sibal termed it an 'impossible task.' 'Eight crore is the electorate and four crore have to do the enumeration,' said Singhvi, who also appeared for another petitioner. Sankaranarayanan said, 'They won't accept Aadhaar card, voter card.' Ananthakrishnan G. is a Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express. He has been in the field for over 23 years, kicking off his journalism career as a freelancer in the late nineties with bylines in The Hindu. A graduate in law, he practised in the District judiciary in Kerala for about two years before switching to journalism. His first permanent assignment was with The Press Trust of India in Delhi where he was assigned to cover the lower courts and various commissions of inquiry. He reported from the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India during his first stint with The Indian Express in 2005-2006. Currently, in his second stint with The Indian Express, he reports from the Supreme Court and writes on topics related to law and the administration of justice. Legal reporting is his forte though he has extensive experience in political and community reporting too, having spent a decade as Kerala state correspondent, The Times of India and The Telegraph. He is a stickler for facts and has several impactful stories to his credit. ... Read More
The Wire
10-07-2025
- Politics
- The Wire
Bihar SIR: Supreme Court Suggests Election Commission Accept Aadhaar, Voter ID, Ration Cards
The bench said that the EC had nothing to do with citizenship of a person and that it was the Ministry of Home Affairs' domain. New Delhi: The Supreme Court today (July 10) asked the Election Commission to consider accepting the Aadhaar card, voter ID card and ration cards for its rolls revision exercise in Bihar. The Election Commission had, earlier in the day, told the apex court that Aadhaar card is not a proof of citizenship as the apex court heard petitions challenging the special intensive revision of electoral rolls ahead of assembly polls in the state. "...[I]n our prima facie view, since the list is not exhaustive, in our opinion, it will be in the interest of justice, the ECI will also consider the Aadhaar card, Electoral Photo Identity Card issued by the Election Commission and the ration card," LiveLaw reported the apex court as having said. It clarified that the EC will enjoy discretion in accepting or rejecting names irrespective of whether it considers these documents. The bench questioned Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi who was representing the EC on the exclusion of Aadhaar card and said, crucially, that the EC had nothing to do with citizenship of a person and it was the Ministry of Home Affairs' domain. "But citizenship is an issue to be determined not by the Election Commission of India, but by the MHA," Justice Dhulia said. When Dwivedi said, "We have powers under Article 326," the bench made an observation on the timing. "Your decision let us say to disenfranchise the person who is already there on the electoral roll of 2025 would compel this individual to appeal against decision and go through this entire rigmarole and thereby be denied of his right to vote in the ensuing election. There is nothing wrong in you purging electoral rolls through an intensive exercise in order to see that non-citizens don't remain on the role. But if you decide only a couple of months before a proposed election..." Justice Bagchi said. The court had allowed the urgent listing of several petitions today. More than 10 petitions are being heard at the apex court. The Association for Democratic Reforms, the NGO, is the lead petitioner. Most other petitioners are opposition leaders including Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Jha, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, Congress leader K.C. Venugopal, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) leader Supriya Sule, Communist Party of India leader D. Raja, Samajwadi Party leader Harinder Singh Malik, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Bal Thackeray) leader Arvind Sawant, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Sarfraz Ahmed and Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation leader Dipankar Bhattacharya. A partial working days bench of Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice Joymalya Bagchi has asked the EC to respond by July 21 and will hear the petitions again on July 28. The court also noted that the petitions asked a question that went to the "very root of the functioning of the democracy in the country – the right to vote." The court said that three questions were involved. One, the EC's power and whether it could undertake the exercise, two, the procedure and the manner of the exercise of the power and three, its timing. On the third point, the court said that it was very short as the Bihar elections are due in November. To Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayan's detailed argument on the fact that the EC is attempting what is an extra-constitutional SIR – distinct from the an "intensive revision" and a "summary revision" – Justice Dhulia appeared to disagree. "They are doing what is provided in the constitution right? so you can't say that they are doing what they are not supposed to?" The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
