Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Aug 12: The Supreme Court has sided with the Election Commission of India (ECI), confirming that an Aadhaar card cannot be considered definitive proof of Indian citizenship. The court made the observation while hearing a series of petitions challenging the Special Intensive Revisions (SIR) of voter rolls in Bihar, where elections are set to take place.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi noted that the ECI is correct in its stance, as the Aadhaar Act itself clarifies that an Aadhaar number is not a citizenship document. The court affirmed that the responsibility for including or excluding citizens from the electoral rolls falls under the ECI's authority and that this process requires verification beyond a single document.

Petitioners, represented by senior advocate Kapil Sibal, argued that the SIR could disenfranchise many vulnerable citizens in Bihar who might not have the required documents. However, the bench pushed back on this claim, stating that it was a "very sweeping argument" and that most people possess some form of identification, such as a ration card or even a document to buy a SIM card.

The court will continue to hear the matter, which also involves a recent affidavit from the ECI opposing a demand by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) to release a list of approximately 65 lakh electors whose enumeration forms were not submitted. The ECI stated that current laws do not mandate the publication of such a list.