New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notices to the Centre, states and Union Territories, as well as the Election Commission of India, on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) alleging widespread misuse of Aadhaar as proof of citizenship, domicile, residential address and date of birth.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice V. Mohana directed the respondents to file their replies on the petition filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay. The PIL seeks strict directions to restrict Aadhaar usage exclusively to identity verification purposes.
The court also ordered that the matter be clubbed with other similar pending petitions concerning the use of Aadhaar in official documentation and verification processes.
The petitioner has argued that the use of Aadhaar as proof of date of birth and residence in voter registration forms under Form-6 violates Section 9 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016, Section 23(4) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and Article 14 of the Constitution.
Section 9 of the Aadhaar Act clearly states that Aadhaar cannot be treated as proof of citizenship or domicile. The petitioner further referred to a notification issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on August 22, 2023, which clarified that Aadhaar is only proof of identity and not of citizenship, address or date of birth.
Despite these clarifications, the PIL alleges that Aadhaar continues to be widely accepted as valid proof for various purposes, including school admissions, property transactions, issuance of birth certificates, ration cards and driving licences.
The plea also challenges the current voter verification system under Form-6, claiming it is inadequate and may allow individuals without proper documentation to be included in the electoral roll, potentially impacting electoral integrity.
To address these concerns, the petitioner has sought the formation of a high-powered monitoring committee comprising a retired Supreme Court judge along with cybersecurity and forensic experts to oversee reforms in the verification framework.
In an earlier petition, the same advocate had urged the court to direct the UIDAI to restrict Aadhaar issuance primarily to children below six years of age and to introduce stricter guidelines for issuing Aadhaar to adolescents and adults.
The PIL further alleges that gaps in the Aadhaar enrolment system have enabled misuse, including the possibility of illegal entrants obtaining Aadhaar cards and subsequently acquiring other identity documents such as ration cards, domicile certificates and voter IDs.
According to the petition, this chain of documentation could lead to diversion of public resources, exclusion of eligible beneficiaries and violations of constitutional principles of equality and fairness.
