NEW DELHI (TIP): The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Election Commission (EC) to consider Aadhaar, elector photo identity card (EPIC), and ration card as proof for voter registration in the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar.
The court referred to the EC’s submission that its list of 11 documents for verification of voters was not “exhaustive”. “Therefore, in our prima facie view, since the list [of documents] is not exhaustive, it would be in the interest of justice if the EC would also consider the following documents, Aadhaar, EPIC, issued by the EC itself, and ration card,” the court dictated in its order. A Bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi allowed the SIR in Bihar to “go on”. It did not pass any interim order of stay. The court listed the case for further hearing on July 28, prior to the publication of the draft electoral rolls in August.
The court said its judicial review of the SIR would focus on the EC’s power to undertake the exercise, the manner in which it was conducted, and the chosen timing, which, it described as “very short”. It noted that the revision in Bihar appeared nebulous — neither “summary” nor “special” as defined under Section 21 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950. “This issue is very important. It goes to the very roots of our democracy. It is about the right to vote,” Justice Dhulia observed. The EC objected to Aadhaar, stating it was a document for identity verification and not proof of citizenship. Aadhaar, it said, was also issued to non-citizens who were ordinarily resident at a place. “The Aadhaar Act clearly says it is not proof of citizenship. The EC cannot exalt the status of the Aadhaar,” senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the commission, submitted. Justice Dhulia, however, remarked that Aadhaar was one of the primary identity documents, and the SIR was about establishing identity. “If I want a caste certificate, I show my Aadhaar. A document 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,” he said. Justice Bagchi concurred, stating that none of the 11 documents listed in the EC’s June 24 notification established citizenship. “They are all meant to prove your identity. Yet, you [EC] 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 the People Act, allows Aadhaar,” he said, addressing the EC, also represented by senior advocate K.K. Venugopal. Mr. Dwivedi urged the court to clarify that it would be at the Commission’s “discretion” to accept Aadhaar, EPIC or ration cards. Justice Dhulia responded that the court’s order was “clear”.
Mr. Dwivedi said the revision was necessary, as the last intensive revision in Bihar was in 2003. He said 60% of enumerations — around 5.5 crore — had already been completed, with half uploaded on the EC’s new digital platform, ECI Net. “For the first time, we have created ECI Net where the documents would be uploaded. This drive need not be repeated, except for adding names,” he said. The petitioners, represented by senior advocates Kapil Sibal, A.M. Singhvi, Gopal Sankaranarayanan, Shadan Farasat and Vrinda Grover, described the SIR as “citizenship screening” of vulnerable groups under the guise of voter registration. They argued that the EC had no jurisdiction to ascertain citizenship, which was the responsibility of the Union Home Ministry. Citing a Bihar government survey, Mr. Sibal submitted that 87% of the population had Aadhaar, while only 14% had matriculation certificates and 2% had passports. “This means a substantial portion of the population risk disenfranchisement despite having an Aadhaar,” he said. Justice Bagchi raised questions about the strict deadlines of the SIR process. “You say within 30 days citizens have to do this and another 30 days they have to do that… The timing is very short… Why is SIR so election-focused,” he asked. Mr. Sankaranarayanan questioned why the SIR, meant to be implemented nationwide, began in Bihar ahead of the election later this year. The sample enumeration form given with the SIR instructions on June 24 gives a column for the voter to give his or her Aadhaar number, but it is optional. However, Aadhaar has been actively used for voter enrolment in earlier elections.
The Manual on Electoral Rolls issued in March 2023 gives an elector the option of furnishing Aadhaar as both a proof of age and ordinary residence, two prerequisites for registration as a voter. Aadhaar linking with voter ID has, in fact, been looked at as a practical solution for tackling duplicate voters. It was in February 2015, that the EC first launched a pilot project to study the linking of Aadhaar with electoral rolls called the National Electoral Rolls Purification and Authentication Programme (NERPAP). It had linked more than 300 million voters in a span of three months. The Supreme Court halted this project through an interim order issued in August of that year on the issue of Right to Privacy, which is guaranteed under the Constitution, and created a three-prong test to assess whether a law violates this right. Following this order, the NERPAP exercise was discontinued. In an editorial, The Hindu said the Supreme Court’s pointed observations regarding Bihar’s ongoing revision of electoral rolls must be heeded by the EC.
“The court has reminded the EC that its mandate, under Article 324, is to facilitate democratic participation, and not to create obstacles,” it said. A ground report from Bihar highlights the hurdles people have been facing.