Supreme Court Directs ECI To Accept Aadhaar Card As '12th Document' In Bihar SIR As Proof Of Identity

In the Bihar Special Intensive Revision (SIR) matter, the Supreme Court on Monday (September 8) directed the Election Commission of India to treat Aadhaar card as a "12th document" which can be produced as proof of identity for the purpose of inclusion in the revised voters list of Bihar.This means that Aadhaar card can be submitted as a stand-alone document for inclusion in the voters list, like any of the other eleven documents originally specified by the ECI as acceptable ones.The Court also clarified in its order that Aadhaar is not a proof of citizenship. The Court directed the Election Commission of India to issue instructions to its officials on the ground regarding the acceptance of Aadhaar.The Court further clarified that the ECI officials will be entitled to verify the authenticity and genuineness of Aadhaar cards produced by the voters.The Court observed that, as per the Aadhaar Act, the Aadhaar card is not proof of citizenship; however, keeping in view Section 23(4) of the Representation of People's Act, Aadhaar card is one document for the purpose of establishing the identity of any person.The Court recorded the undertaking of the ECI that Aadhaar card will be accepted as a proof of identity.A bench comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi passed the order after RJD and other petitioners submitted that the ECI officials were not accepting the Aadhaar card as a stand-alone document for inclusion in the electoral roll and were insisting on the production of any of the eleven documents specified by the ECI in its SIR notification.Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, for the RJD, submitted that despite three orders passed by the Supreme Court to consider Aadhaar card as well, the Electoral Registration Officers and the Booth Level Officers were not accepting it. He cited a show-cause notice purportedly issued to a BLO for accepting Aadhaar card. Sibal submitted that the ECI has not issued any instructions to its officials at the ground level to accept Aadhaar card, and hence the Supreme Court's orders were not getting implemented. Sibal also said that affidavits of several voters, whose Aadhaar cards were not accepted, have been filed."Aadhaar card is the universally available document with the population. If they cannot accept that, what kind of inclusion excercise are they carrying out. They want to exclude the poor," Sibal exclaimed.Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, for the ECI, submitted that Aadhaar cannot be accepted as a proof of citizenship. Sibal at this point interjected to contend that the ECI has no authority to determine citizenship. Dwivedi disagreed with this submission and asserted that at least for the purpose of eletoral rolls, the ECI hhas the power to decide whether the applicant was a citizen. He requested the Court to decide this issue once and for all.Dwivedi furthe submitted that the ECI has issued public advertisements in the media to give information to the voters about the Supreme Court's direction for the acceptance of Aadhaar.Justice Bagchi at this juncture pointed out that, except for the Passport and the Birth Certificate, none of the other 11 documents specified by the ECI were not documents of citizenship."We would like you to clarify...we have repeatedly passed order that the list illustratively indicates 11 documents...if you see those 11, apart from passport and birth certificates, none are conclusive proof of citizenship. We clarified saying include Aadhaar," Justice Bagchi said.Advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, who has filed a separate petition seeking nationwide SIR in all states, submitted that Aadhaar card cannot be accepted if the person does not have any of the eleven documents. At this juncture, Justice Bagchi said that the RP Act itself mentions the Aadhaar card. Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan specified that it was Section 23(4) of the RP Act which referred to the Aadhaar card as a document of identity. Advocate Vrinda Grover pointed out that even Form 6 (for inclusion of first-time voters) specifies the Aadhaar card as one of the acceptable documents. When Upadhyay said that many Aadhaar cards have been forged, Justice Kant said that any document can be forged.After the bench made its mind clear that Aadhaar has to be accepted at least as a proof of identity, Dwivedi undertook that it will be done. The petitioners then requested the bench to clarify that Aadhaar can be accepted as a "12th document". "Otherwise, the order will not trickle down and it will remain as the other three previous orders passed by this Court," Sankaranarayanan submitted.The judges, after a brief discussion amongst themselves, then chose to clarify in its order that Aadhaar must be treated as a "12th document".The order dictated by the bench reads as follows :"The short issue pertains to the acceptability and status of Aadhaar card. In view of the statutory status assigned to Aadhaar under Aadhaar Act, Aadhaar card is not proof of citizenship. However, keeping in...

Supreme Court Directs ECI To Accept Aadhaar Card As '12th Document' In Bihar SIR As Proof Of Identity

Debby Jain

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