SC seeks Centre, states' response on Aadhaar misuse; plea says it should be only an identity proof

The Supreme Court on June 16 sought responses from the Centre, all States and Union Territories on a petition alleging that Aadhaar is being improperly used as proof of citizenship, domicile, residential address and date of birth, despite legal provisions stating otherwise.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice V Mohana issued notices to the Centre and the States on a plea filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay. The matter has been tagged with similar pending cases before the apex court.

The petition seeks directions to the Centre, State governments and the Election Commission of India to ensure that Aadhaar is used solely as proof of identity and not as evidence of citizenship, domicile, residential address or date of birth.

Filed through advocate Ashwani Dubey, the plea argues that the use of Aadhaar as proof of residence and date of birth in voter registration applications (Form-6) is contrary to provisions of the Aadhaar Act, the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and Article 14 of the Constitution.

According to the petition, Section 9 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016 clearly states that Aadhaar cannot be treated as proof of citizenship or domicile. It also cites a notification issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India on August 22, 2023, which clarified that Aadhaar serves only as proof of identity and not as proof of citizenship, address or date of birth.

The petitioner contended that despite these provisions, Aadhaar is routinely accepted for school admissions, property transactions, birth certificates, ration cards, driving licences and voter registrations. The plea alleges that such practices could enable illegal immigrants and infiltrators to obtain official documents and potentially gain entry into electoral rolls.

The petition further argues that the current verification mechanism under Form-6 for voter registration is inadequate and may allow individuals lacking proper supporting documents to be included in the electoral database.

Seeking broader reforms, the plea has proposed a comprehensive review of the electoral verification framework and called for the constitution of a high-powered monitoring committee comprising a retired Supreme Court judge, cybersecurity experts and forensic specialists to oversee the process and recommend safeguards.

The Supreme Court will consider the matter after receiving responses from the Centre, States and other concerned authorities.