THE SUPREME COURT TODAY refused to modify its September 8 interim order directing the Election Commission of India (‘ECI’) to treat Aadhaar card as the 12th document for establishing identity during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (‘SIR’) of electoral rolls in Bihar.
A Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said the order was only interim and the question of Aadhaar’s validity as identity proof remained open. The Bench pointed out that other commonly accepted identity documents like ration cards or driving licences were as much prone to forgery and Aadhaar could not be singled out for exclusion.
“Driving licences can be forged, ration cards can be forged. Several documents can be forged. Aadhaar is to be utilised to the extent law permits,” Justice Kant observed.
The Court was hearing an application by advocate Ashwini Upadhyay, who urged the Bench to reconsider its earlier direction. He argued that Aadhaar was not proof of either citizenship or residence since anyone could secure one merely by living in India for 182 days.
Pointing to the alleged large-scale presence of Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants in Bihar, he described the ECI’s reliance on Aadhaar as “disastrous.”
