New Delhi/Patna: The Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission of India to treat the Aadhaar card as the 12th document for voter verification during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Hearing petitions challenging the Election Commission’s decision to conduct the SIR, the court clarified that while Aadhaar is not proof of citizenship, it can be recognised as a valid proof of identity under the Representation of the People Act. The court also instructed the commission to investigate any doubts regarding the authenticity of Aadhaar cards.
Senior Congress leader and advocate Kapil Sibal highlighted that despite a July 10 court directive, Aadhaar was still not being accepted for approximately 6.5 million people, as Booth Level Officers (BLOs) were insisting on one of the original 11 documents. Sibal noted that the commission had issued show-cause notices to officers accepting Aadhaar, further restricting its use.
The court requested the Election Commission to produce the notices, but its counsel, Rakesh Dwivedi, said they were unavailable. Sibal countered that the notices, signed by Election Registration Officers, were official documents of the commission. The next hearing in the case has been scheduled for September 15.
