Bihar SIR: Consider Aadhaar as valid ID document, SC tells EC; clarifies it’s not a citizenship proof | India News

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Election Commission (EC) to accept Aadhaar as the 12th prescribed document for establishing the identity of voters in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar.At present, Bihar SIR allows voters to submit 11 types of identity documents along with their enumeration forms.A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi underlined that Aadhaar can serve as proof of identity but not proof of citizenship, news agency PTI reported. The EC, it said, must verify the genuineness of Aadhaar numbers submitted and ensure that only genuine citizens are added to the rolls, while excluding those using forged papers.“Nobody wants the EC to include illegal immigrants in the electoral roll. Only genuine citizens can vote,” the bench observed, asking the poll body to issue necessary directions during the day for Aadhaar’s acceptance.The court also sought the EC’s explanation on show-cause notices served to officials for refusing Aadhaar as identity proof.Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the EC, argued that the demand for Aadhaar’s inclusion serves “no practical purpose” as 99.6% of the 7.24 crore voters on the draft roll had already submitted documents.The bench referred to the Aadhaar Act, 2016 and the Representation of the People Act, reiterating that Aadhaar cannot prove citizenship but can be used for identity verification.On September 1, while hearing pleas from political parties seeking an extension of deadlines, the Court was told by the EC that claims, objections and corrections to the draft rolls (published August 1) could still be filed beyond the September 1 cut-off, though they would be considered only after the final roll is published.The SC termed the confusion around Bihar’s SIR “largely a trust issue” and directed the state legal services authority to deploy paralegal volunteers to help voters and parties file claims and objections.As per the EC’s June 24 schedule, the deadline for claims and objections ended on September 1, and the final electoral roll will be out on September 30.Between August 22 and 30, the EC said, 22,723 claims for inclusion and 1,34,738 objections for exclusion were filed.