SC to examine plea seeking curb on Aadhaar use for voter registration verification

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a public interest litigation on Tuesday that seeks to draw a clear distinction between Aadhaar as proof of identity and documents that establish citizenship, domicile, residence or age.

The petition, filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, contends that Aadhaar has increasingly been relied upon for purposes beyond its intended scope despite legal provisions and official notifications clarifying its limited role.

The matter is expected to come up before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice V Mohana.

The plea requests directions to the Union government, state governments and the Election Commission to ensure that Aadhaar is accepted only as an identity document and not as evidence of citizenship, domicile, residential status or date of birth.

According to the petitioner, the Aadhaar framework itself makes it clear that possession of the document does not establish citizenship or domicile.

The plea argues that several administrative and public processes continue to treat Aadhaar as a supporting document for age, residence and other eligibility criteria, creating what it describes as a legal inconsistency.

A key concern raised in the petition relates to voter enrolment procedures. It questions the acceptance of Aadhaar-linked documentation in applications for inclusion in electoral rolls and argues that the existing verification mechanism may not be robust enough to independently establish an applicant’s eligibility.

The PIL claims that over-reliance on Aadhaar in various government and civic processes could weaken safeguards meant to verify citizenship and residency status.

It further alleges that such practices may enable individuals lacking other qualifying documents to obtain additional records on the strength of Aadhaar.

Seeking wider electoral reforms, the petition has called for a review of the verification process used during voter registration.

It has also proposed the creation of a high-level monitoring body comprising a retired Supreme Court judge along with experts in cybersecurity and forensic investigation to supervise reforms and strengthen document verification systems.

The court’s consideration of the plea is expected to revisit the legal position on Aadhaar’s role in public administration and electoral processes, particularly on whether the identity document is being used beyond the limits prescribed under law.