The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) view that Aadhaar is not definitive proof of citizenship and requires separate verification.
During a hearing on petitions against the Special Summary Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, a bench headed by Justice Surya Kant remarked, “The EC is correct in saying Aadhaar cannot be accepted as conclusive proof of citizenship. It has to be verified,” while addressing senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who appeared for the petitioners.
The top court observed that the key question was whether the Election Commission of India (ECI) holds the authority to conduct the voter verification exercise. “If they don’t have the power, everything ends. But if they have the power, there can’t be a problem,” Justice Surya Kant remarked.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the petitioners, argued that the process could result in large-scale voter exclusion, particularly for those unable to submit the required forms. He noted that even individuals listed in the 2003 electoral rolls were being asked to submit fresh forms, and failure to do so could lead to deletion of their names, despite there being no change in their residence.
According to Sibal, the Election Commission data showed 7.24 crore people had submitted forms, yet around 65 lakh names were excluded without any proper inquiry into deaths or migration. “They admit in their affidavit that they did not conduct any survey,” he told the bench.
The court questioned how the 65 lakh figure was arrived at and whether the apprehension was based on verified facts or assumptions. “We want to understand whether your apprehension is imaginary or a real concern,” the bench said, noting that those who had submitted forms were already in the draft rolls.
Kapil Sibal told the court that Election Commission records showed 7.24 crore people had submitted forms, yet around 65 lakh names were removed without any proper inquiry into deaths or migration. “They admit in their affidavit that they did not conduct any survey,” he said.
The bench questioned how the figure of 65 lakh was determined and whether the concern was supported by facts or based on assumptions. “We want to understand whether your apprehension is imaginary or a real concern,” the court remarked, adding that those who had submitted forms were already included in the draft rolls.
Sibal further stated that the 2025 electoral roll listed 7.9 crore voters, of which 4.9 crore were also present in the 2003 list, and that 22 lakh voters had been recorded as deceased.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, also appearing for the petitioners, alleged that the Election Commission had not made public — either in its court submissions or on its website — the list of voters removed due to death or change of residence. “They say they have given some information to booth-level agents, but claim they are not obliged to give it to anyone else,” Bhushan told the bench.
The court observed that if a voter submitted a form along with Aadhaar and ration card, the EC was duty-bound to verify the details. It also sought clarification on whether those entitled to receive notices about missing documents had in fact been informed.
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