The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Tuesday a plea that alleges the misuse of Aadhaar cards issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India as proof of citizenship, domicile and residential address. The petition has sought directions to restrict the use of Aadhaar strictly to identity verification.
A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice V Mohana is likely to hear the PIL filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay. The plea has sought directions to the Centre, state governments and the Election Commission to ensure that Aadhaar is treated only as proof of identity, and not as proof of citizenship, domicile, address or date of birth.
Filed through advocate Ashwani Dubey, the petition has also sought directions that the use of Aadhaar as proof of date of birth and residence in the application form for new voter registration be considered against Section 9 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016, Section 23(4) of the RPA, 1950 and Article 14 of the Constitution.
The plea said, “Section 9 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016 expressly states that ‘Aadhaar is not the evidence of citizenship or domicile’. The Unique Identification Authority of India Notification dated August 22, 2023 clearly states that ‘Aadhaar is proof of identity, not of citizenship, address or date of birth’…” It added, “Despite this, Aadhaar is not only being used as a proof of age, citizenship and domicile for school admission, property purchase and to obtain a birth certificate, ration card, driving licence but also being used in the Application Form for New Voter Registration (Form-6) as a proof of date of birth & proof of residence. And thus, infiltrators & illegal immigrants are obtaining various documents using Aadhaar.”
The petition contended that the existing verification mechanism under Form-6 is inadequate and could allow individuals without proper supporting documents to be included in the electoral database. It has sought a comprehensive overhaul of the verification framework used in electoral processes and proposed a high-powered monitoring committee, comprising a retired Supreme Court judge along with cyber security and forensic experts, to oversee reforms.
In sum, the plea before the Supreme Court raises objections to the use of Aadhaar beyond identity verification and seeks directions to tighten checks in voter registration and other official processes.
– Ends
With inputs from PTI
