'Cannot accept Aadhaar, voter ID and ration cards'; Election Commission rejects Supreme Court's suggestion, says it has authority to verify citizenship

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission has rejected the Supreme Court’s suggestion to accept Aadhaar, voter ID, and ration cards as valid documents in the ongoing intensive voter list revision process in Bihar. The Commission also disagreed with the Supreme Court’s earlier view that determining citizenship is the responsibility of the Ministry of Home Affairs and not the Election Commission.

According to the Commission, only Indian citizens can be included in the voter list, and it is the Commission’s constitutional responsibility to verify whether a person is a citizen or not. In its affidavit, the Election Commission stated that it has the authority under the Constitution to verify citizenship.

Previously, a Supreme Court bench comprising Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi had instructed the Election Commission to provide a clear explanation if it stands firm in its decision to reject all three documents as valid proof.

The court is hearing petitions filed by opposition parties in the INDIA alliance and several NGOs, claiming that the voter list revision process in Bihar is one-sided and unconstitutional.

Bihar assembly elections are expected to take place in October or November, making the Supreme Court’s decision crucial. The matter is likely to be heard on July 28.

Key points from the Election Commission:

• The Commission clarified that Aadhaar is not an official document to prove citizenship and cannot be used to include names in the voter list. Aadhaar is meant only for identification purposes.
• Voter ID cards issued based on the previous list cannot be considered valid for the new voter list being prepared under the Representation of the People Act.
• Due to the large number of fake ration cards, they are not accepted. The Bihar government had earlier removed five crore fake ration cards from official records, highlighting the issue.