Aadhaar not proof of citizenship’: SC agrees with EC
The Supreme Court on Tuesday began hearing petitions against the Election Commission’s (EC) special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar, with Justice Surya Kant stating that Aadhaar cannot be treated as proof of citizenship.
The Supreme Court observed that the inclusion and exclusion of citizens and non-citizens from the electoral rolls falls within the remit of the EC.
“Are petitioners saying that Aadhaar card is proof of citizenship? They are not saying that it is not a measure… the Aadhaar Act says so,” Bar and Bench quoted Justice Surya Kant as saying.
He added, “See, the Election Commission is correct in saying that Aadhaar can’t be accepted as conclusive proof of citizenship; it has to be verified. See section 9 of the Aadhaar Act.”
The apex court, however, did not agree with the submission that the people in Bihar do not have the majority of documents sought by the ECI as proof during the SIR.
“This is a case of trust deficiency that’s all,” Justice Kant remarked during the hearing.
The bench said the first issue to be settled was whether the Election Commission had the authority to conduct the verification exercise, reported India Today. “If they don’t have the power, everything ends. But if they have the power, there can’t be a problem,” Justice Kant said.