Supreme Court says EC should consider Aadhaar, ration card as proof for Bihar voter roll revision

The Supreme Court on Thursday said that the Election Commission should consider Aadhaar card, voter ID card and ration card as valid documents for the revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, reported Live Law.

A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi noted that the list of 11 documents, which the poll panel had said could be submitted as proof of citizenship, was not exhaustive.

“Therefore, in our prima facie view, since the list is not exhaustive, in our opinion, it will be in the interest of justice, the ECI [Election Commission of India] will also consider the Aadhaar card, Electoral Photo Identity Card issued by the Election Commission and the ration card,” the bench was quoted as saying.

The court was hearing a clutch of petitions challenging the Election Commission’s decision to carry out a special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar ahead of the Assembly elections, which are expected to take place in October or November.

The matter has been posted for further hearing on July 28. The bench on Thursday asked the Election Commission to file its counter-affidavit by July 21.

The revision of the electoral rolls in Bihar was announced by the Election Commission on June 24.

As part of the exercise, persons whose names were not on the 2003 voter list will need to submit proof of eligibility to vote. This means that 2.9 crore out of the state’s 7.8 crore voters – or about 37% of the electors – will have to submit documentary evidence.

Voters born before July 1, 1987, must show proof of their date and place of birth, while those born between July 1, 1987, and December 2, 2004, must also submit documents establishing the date and place of birth of one of their parents. Those born after December 2, 2004, will need proof of date of birth for themselves and both parents.

During the hearing on Thursday, the Supreme Court verbally observed that only the Ministry of Home Affairs, and not the Election Commission, can remove non-citizens from the electoral rolls, The Indian Express reported.

Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, representing the petitioners, argued that the special intensive revision improperly shifts the burden of proof from the Election Commission to the voter.

Under the exercise, voters must prove their citizenship and eligibility, which raises constitutional concerns, the newspaper quoted Sankaranarayanan as submitting before the court.

The petitioners had also challenged the Election Commission’s exclusion of the Aadhaar card and voter ID from the list of documents specified as proof of citizenship for those whose names were not included in the 2003 electoral roll, Live Law reported.

Sankaranarayanan pointed out that even though Aadhaar card is an acceptable document as per the Representation of Peoples Act, the poll panel does not accept it for the Bihar special intensive revision.

In response, advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, representing the Election Commission, argued that an Aadhaar card cannot be used as proof of citizenship. He said it is only an authentication of one’s identity.

The advocate added that the Aadhaar Act 2017 states the card by itself is not proof of citizenship or domicile.

Watch: ‘Need a civil disobedience movement against EC’: TMC MP Mahua Moitra on Bihar voter roll revision

On July 2, eleven INDIA bloc parties told the Election Commission that the special intensive revision of Bihar’s electoral rolls risked disenfranchising more than 2.5 crore voters, as they may not be able to produce the necessary documents.

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday defended the exercise, claiming that the exercise had to be carried out as no one was satisfied with the current voter rolls.

Also read:

• Bihar voter roll revision: Why having to prove you are an Indian citizen is a nightmare
• The curious case of a missing Election Commission order on 2003 voter list revision in Bihar
• Why EC move to create new Bihar voter list has rung the ‘NRC’ alarm bell