The Supreme Court on Tuesday clarified that the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has no authority to restrict the use of Aadhaar cards as valid proof of identity for voter list inclusion. The court remarked that an executive notification issued by UIDAI cannot override the statutory provisions of the Representation of the People Act (RP Act).
A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi made the observation while hearing a batch of petitions challenging the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) decision to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across multiple states.
“A government notification does not override primary legislation. Aadhaar has been given a status with regard to identity in the primary legislation, namely the RP Act. Until and unless that provision is amended or struck down as ultra vires, a notification by UIDAI in the executive sphere cannot override it,” the bench stated.
The clarification came after a petitioner referred to a UIDAI notification, which claimed that Aadhaar is not proof of citizenship, arguing that the document should not be accepted for voter list verification.
Justice Bagchi referred to Section 23(4) of the RP Act, which empowers an electoral registration officer to require an individual to furnish their Aadhaar number for establishing identity. He noted that such a statutory provision can only be changed by Parliament, not by an executive order.
The issue arose after multiple petitioners contended that during the ongoing SIR exercise, the Election Commission was rejecting Aadhaar cards as valid proof for inclusion in electoral rolls, despite a previous Supreme Court directive allowing its use among 12 acceptable documents for identity verification.
Earlier, the apex court had ordered that around 65 lakh voters whose names were deleted from Bihar’s draft voter list could use their Aadhaar cards to challenge the deletion during the SIR process ahead of the November 6 polls.
However, both the UIDAI and the Election Commission have maintained that Aadhaar, while useful for establishing identity, cannot serve as proof of citizenship, a key criterion for voter eligibility. With multiple reports of Aadhaar frauds and instances of non-citizens obtaining cards using forged documents, the agencies argue that unrestricted reliance on Aadhaar could open the door to large-scale manipulation of electoral rolls.
The UIDAI’s cautionary notice, is meant to prevent misuse and ensure that citizenship verification remains a distinct and rigorous process, something the apex court has reportedly not fully accounted for in its interpretation.
The bench also agreed to hear a crucial batch of petitions filed by NGOs and political parties challenging the ECI’s SIR exercise nationwide, which they argue could arbitrarily disenfranchise millions of genuine voters, thereby undermining the integrity of free and fair elections.
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