5 months ago
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The Supreme Court connected Wednesday (January 28, 2026) objected to an statement that Aadhaar indispensable beryllium dropped from the documents electors are allowed to usage for the intent of individuality verification during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) workout connected the crushed that they are easy forged and sourced done backstage agencies.
“Do you cognize that a passport is besides outsourced to a backstage bureau nether the auspices of the Government of India? These backstage work centres [through which Aadhaar enrolments and updates whitethorn beryllium done] run nether the statutory authorities oregon the authorities itself. Aadhaar is simply a nationalist document. Any papers tin beryllium forged. Even a passport tin beryllium forged, portion issuing Aadhaar, the backstage centre is performing a nationalist duty,” Justice Joymalya Bagchi, a subordinate of the Division Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, addressed elder advocator Vijay Hamsaria.
The passport was 1 among the archetypal 11 documents the Election Commission of India had allowed successful its bid declaring the SIR workout connected June 24 past year.
Mr. Hansaria, representing petitioner-advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, said the tribunal indispensable see its September 8, 2025, bid to see Aadhaar arsenic the 12th ‘indicative’ papers for verification and a impervious of identity. The bid was passed during the Bihar SIR exercise.
He submitted that astir 5.72 lakh privately-run communal work centres transportation retired Aadhaar enrolments and updates, and that immoderate idiosyncratic with a Class 10 qualification, basal machine cognition and a biometric instrumentality could run specified a centre.
Mr. Hansaria referred to the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act of 2016 to constituent retired that the papers was not meant to verify citizenship oregon identity, but lone arsenic a papers to boost “good governance, efficient, transparent, and targeted transportation of subsidies, benefits and services”. He argued that Section 2(v) of the 2016 Act defined ‘resident’ arsenic immoderate individual, including a foreigner, who has been successful India for a minimum 182 days preceding the day of exertion for Aadhaar.
“So, Aadhaar cannot beryllium citizenship,” the elder advocator submitted.
He pointed to Section 9 of the 2016 Act to enactment that the proviso specifically mandated that an Aadhaar fig cannot beryllium utilized arsenic grounds of citizenship oregon domicile.
“Aadhaar is an acknowledged papers of identity. We person ne'er said Aadhaar tin beryllium utilized arsenic a ground of citizenship. We person ever said the EC tin verify Aadhaar,” Justice Bagchi responded to the submissions.
Previously, the justice had referred to an amended Section 23 of the Representation of the People Act of 1950 to enactment that a idiosyncratic could furnish her Aadhaar fig to the Electoral Registration Officer for the intent of establishing her identity.
Mr. Upadhyay sought “periodic SIR”, arguing that infiltration into India had crossed the bounds to go a signifier of “external aggression”.
“Only Indian citizens who person the close to ballot should vote. No 1 other should person the close to vote. Those who are ineligible to ballot shall besides not beryllium allowed to vote. Therefore, periodic peculiar intensive revision needs to beryllium done successful bid to support the sacrosanct quality of our electoral process. The Special Intensive Revision is indispensable for preserving the integrity of our ideology and ensuring that elections bespeak the ‘will of Indian citizens’, not foreigners,” helium submitted.
