NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought responses from the Central government, State governments and the Election Commission of India (ECI) on a petition seeking directions that Aadhaar be treated only as proof of identity and not as proof of citizenship, domicile, residential address or date of birth.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice V. Mohana issued notice on a public interest litigation filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, who contends that the use of Aadhaar beyond identity verification is contrary to the Aadhaar Act, 2016, and the clarification issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).
The petition relies on Section 9 of the Aadhaar Act, which states that an Aadhaar number or authentication thereof shall not, by itself, confer any right of citizenship or domicile. It also refers to a UIDAI notification issued in August 2023 clarifying that Aadhaar serves only as proof of identity and is not proof of citizenship, address or date of birth.
Section 9 of the Aadhar Act, 2016 states that the Aadhaar number is not evidence of citizenship or domicile, etc. It reads “The Aadhaar number or the authentication thereof shall not, by itself, confer any right of, or be proof of, citizenship or domicile in respect of an Aadhaar number holder.”
According to the plea, despite these statutory limitations, Aadhaar is routinely accepted as proof of age, residence, citizenship and domicile for a range of purposes, including school admissions, issuance of birth certificates, ration cards, driving licences and property transactions.
A specific challenge has been raised to the acceptance of Aadhaar as proof of date of birth and residence in Form-6, which is used for fresh voter registration.
The petitioner argues that Aadhaar enrolment is available to all “residents”, including foreign nationals who have resided in India for at least 182 days in the preceding year.
The plea further states that Aadhaar can be obtained on the basis of relatively simple documents, including rent agreements or certifications from local elected representatives.
According to the petition, this creates the possibility of illegal immigrants obtaining Aadhaar and subsequently securing other official documents. It alleges that such individuals are able to create a chain of documents, including ration cards, domicile certificates, birth certificates and voter identity cards, thereby gaining access to welfare benefits and public resources meant for eligible citizens including weaker sections.
The plea also raises concerns about the impact on electoral rolls and the integrity of elections if Aadhaar is treated as proof of residence or age for voter registration. It contends that the inclusion of ineligible persons in electoral rolls could have wider implications, including on future delimitation exercises.
Upadhyay has therefore sought directions that Aadhaar be used strictly as proof of identity in accordance with the Aadhaar Act and the UIDAI notification. The petition also seeks a declaration that treating Aadhaar as proof of date of birth or residence for fresh voter registration is contrary to Section 9 of the Aadhaar Act, Section 23(4) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and Article 14 of the Constitution.
