2 months ago
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The Supreme Court connected Tuesday (February 24, 2026) refused to change a September 2025 bid to usage Aadhaar successful the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, saying the Representation of the People Act continues to endorse the 12-digit unsocial individuality fig arsenic an individuality impervious for citizens.
A Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said petitioner-advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay should instrumentality his apprehensions that fake Aadhaar cards were manufactured connected an “industrial scale” successful the borderline areas to the Union Government.
The apex tribunal made it wide that arsenic agelong arsenic the Representation of the People Act included Aadhaar arsenic a impervious of identity, the tribunal had nary prime but to travel the law.
Section 23 of the Representation of the People Act of 1950 notes that a idiosyncratic could furnish her Aadhaar fig to the Electoral Registration Officer for the intent of establishing her identity.
“You marque a practice to the Union Government to amend the Representation of the People Act… This cannot beryllium a treatment earlier our forum always. If, arsenic you say, Aadhaar has been fraudulently procured connected an concern scale, past it requires to beryllium statutorily regulated…” Justice Bagchi addressed Mr. Upadhyay.
Mr. Upadhyay said that “whenever determination are Bangladeshis oregon Rohingyas captured by the police, the Aadhaar cards recovered connected them are from Bengal”.
Chief Justice Kant said the contented was serious, though it was pressed earlier the incorrect forum, the court, alternatively of the government.
Earlier, too, the tribunal had objected to an statement that Aadhaar indispensable beryllium dropped from the database of documents that electors were allowed to usage for the intent of individuality verification during the SIR.
Mr. Upadhyay, connected that occasion, had argued that Aadhaar was easy forged and could beryllium 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 Bagchi had remarked then.
On September 8, past year, the apex tribunal had ordered the Election Commission to see Aadhaar arsenic the 12th ‘indicative’ papers for verification and a impervious of identity. The bid was passed during the Bihar SIR exercise.
Mr. Upadhyay had besides sought “periodic SIR”, arguing that infiltration into India has crossed the bounds to go a signifier of “external aggression”.
