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The Supreme Court of India on Monday has instructed the Election Commission (EC) to recognise the Aadhaar card as an acceptable document for verifying identity during the revision of electoral rolls. This addition makes Aadhaar the 12th form of identification on the EC's list, alongside existing options like passports and driving licenses.
The directive, issued by a bench led by Justice Surya Kant and including Justice Joymalya Bagchi, comes in response to petitions highlighting exclusions from Bihar's voter lists during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise and that ECI was reluctant to accept Aadhaar as a valid ID proof, despite the previous directive issued by the top court.
The court emphasised that while Aadhaar can serve as proof of identity, it does not establish citizenship status. "Nobody wants the EC to include illegal immigrants in the electoral roll. Only genuine citizens can vote," the bench noted, underscoring the need to prevent forged documents from compromising the process. But made it mandatory for ECI to accept the document and then verify it if need be.
“The Aadhaar card shall be treated as the 12th document by the ECI. However, it is open for the authorities to examine the validity and genuineness of the Aadhaar card itself. It is clarified that Aadhaar will not be treated as a proof of citizenship,” directed the bench, adding that the poll panel must issue instructions to its field officials “during the course of the day.”
Several petitioners including political parties as such Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) complained that several Block Level Officers (BLO) have been show-caused by ECI for accepting Aadhaar as an id proof during the course of revision. “What they are doing is shocking…Booth-level officers (BLOs) are being hauled up for accepting Aadhaar. We can show notices being issued by electoral registration officers which say no other document except the 11 notified ones will be accepted. Where is the inclusive exercise if a universal document like Aadhaar is being rejected?” Submitted senior Advocate Kapil Sibal appearing for RJD. When the bench asked if the petitioners wanted the status of a voter to be determined solely on the basis of Aadhaar, Sibal replied: “I am already there in the electoral roll of 2025. Where is the question of proving anything? BLOs cannot determine my citizenship.”
The Election Commission of India on August 1 had published the draft electoral roll for Bihar, following the completion of the first phase (Enumeration Phase) of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. This draft revealed the deletion of approximately 65 lakh names from the previous voter list of 7.89 crore, reducing the total to over 7.24 crore electors. The exclusions were primarily due to reasons such as deaths (about 22 lakh), permanent migration or intractability (around 36 lakh), and duplicate entries (about 7 lakh). The ECI had shared the draft with district election officers on July 31, 2025, and made it publicly available starting August 1, opening a one-month window for claims and objections until September 1, 2025.
As the matter reached the Supreme Court, during the hearing on August 14, on petitions challenging the SIR, the bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi issued an interim order directing the Election Commission of India (ECI) to publish a searchable, district-wise list of approximately 65 lakh voters whose names appeared in the January 2025 electoral roll but were omitted from the draft roll released on August 1. The court had then verbally directed ECI to consider Aadhaar as a proof of identity and address. But on Monday, petitioners alleged that ECI chose to adhere to the directed. Thus the bench has issued an order, thereby directing and mandating ECI to consider Aadhaar for I’d verification. The bench also reminded both sides that the statutory framework was clear: Aadhaar cannot be elevated to proof of citizenship but does carry value under the Representation of the People Act. “Statute says and judicial dictum also says that Aadhaar is not proof of citizenship. But it is indeed a proof of identity and has some value. You should take it and examine it,” Justice Bagchi observed.
