{"id":62550,"date":"2025-09-09T11:01:33","date_gmt":"2025-09-09T05:31:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=62550"},"modified":"2025-09-09T11:01:33","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T05:31:33","slug":"sc-aadhaar-valid-for-identity-not-citizenship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/sc-aadhaar-valid-for-identity-not-citizenship\/","title":{"rendered":"SC: Aadhaar Valid for Identity, Not Citizenship"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Aadhaar Identity Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Supreme Court directed the Election Commission to include Aadhaar as the 12th valid identity document for <\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/ecs-special-voter-roll-revision-in-bihar-proof-of-birth-now-mandatory\/\" target=\"_blank\">Bihar\u2019s Special Intensive Revision (SIR)<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of electoral rolls, while clarifying that Aadhaar establishes identity but not citizenship.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This strengthens the ability of excluded individuals to use <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/aadhaar\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Aadhaar<\/strong><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, along with other listed documents, to challenge deletions or file claims for inclusion.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Given Aadhaar\u2019s coverage of over 87% of India\u2019s population, this order significantly broadens the net for voter inclusion.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Background<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Supreme Court is hearing petitions challenging the Election Commission of India\u2019s (ECI) June 24 directive for a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Petitioners argue that the SIR risks arbitrary voter deletions without safeguards, potentially disenfranchising lakhs and undermining fair elections.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The ECI defends the exercise as necessary to ensure only eligible citizens remain on the rolls ahead of the Bihar Assembly polls.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A key dispute is over which documents should be accepted to verify voter identity.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>SC Clarifies Aadhaar\u2019s Role in Bihar Voter List Revision<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Supreme Court directed the Election Commission to accept Aadhaar as the <\/span><b>12th valid identity document<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for Bihar\u2019s Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls but clarified it cannot prove citizenship.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The EC must verify the authenticity of Aadhaar numbers before inclusion and ensure <\/span><b>only genuine citizens are enrolled<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, excluding illegal immigrants or those using forged documents.\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With this, the EC is permitted to verify Aadhaar\u2019s authenticity and, if doubts persist, exclude individuals from the rolls.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even genuine Aadhaar holders can face scrutiny over their citizenship, similar to those presenting other documents like caste or matriculation certificates.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Referring to the Aadhaar Act, 2016 and the <\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/representation-of-the-people-act-1950\/\" target=\"_blank\">Representation of Peoples Act<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the bench reiterated that Aadhaar cannot establish citizenship but can be accepted as proof of identity.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Citizenship, the Court stressed, is determined under the <\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/citizenship-act-1955\/\" target=\"_blank\">Citizenship Act, 1955<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, based on birth and parental status, not a single document.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>What Aadhaar Can and Cannot Do<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Supreme Court clarified that Aadhaar can serve as proof of a voter\u2019s identity and residence but not citizenship, since even non-citizens residing in India may hold Aadhaar cards.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Election Commission (EC) has been directed to verify the genuineness of Aadhaar cards to prevent forged use in electoral rolls.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>How Citizenship Is Proved<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Citizenship must be established through documents such as passports, birth certificates with parental details, citizenship or naturalisation certificates, or certain government\/school records backed by additional evidence.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Importantly, the Court held that <\/span><b>booth-level officers (BLOs) cannot decide citizenship<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">; only the Centre can, under the Citizenship Act. BLOs may verify only local identity and residence.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Other Valid Documents in Bihar\u2019s SIR<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Identity card\/Pension Payment Order issued to regular employee\/pensioner of Central\/State Govt\/PSU<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Identity card\/Certificate\/Document issued in India by Govt.\/local authorities\/Banks\/Post Office\/LIC\/PSUs before 01.07.1987<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Birth Certificate issued by competent authority<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Passport<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Matriculation\/Educational certificate from recognised Boards\/universities<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Permanent Residence certificate issued by competent State authority<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Forest Right Certificate<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">OBC\/SC\/ST or any caste certificate issued by competent authority<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">National Register of Citizens (wherever it exists)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Family Register prepared by State\/Local authorities<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Land\/house allotment certificate by Government<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Significance of This Judgement<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bihar\u2019s voter list revision is one of India\u2019s largest, covering 7.24 crore voters, with over 65 lakh names proposed for deletion.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The inclusion of Aadhaar aims to protect genuine voters, particularly the poor who lack passports or formal IDs, from disenfranchisement.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Court also urged political parties to help excluded people during the revision process.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Nationwide Implications<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although the order directly applies to Bihar, it has wider implications.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The EC is expected to conduct a nationwide SIR in 2026, and leaving Aadhaar out of accepted documents elsewhere will be difficult.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The EC is also seeking state-level suggestions on additional documents, especially in border states.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Unsettled Question<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A key unresolved issue is <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">whether the EC has the authority to decide matters of citizenship<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While the EC insists its mandate is to ensure only citizens vote, petitioners question its power to enforce this mandate.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The SC may need to address this broader constitutional question in future hearings.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source:<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/india\/bihar-sir-sc-says-aadhaar-proof-of-identity-but-not-citizenship-what-it-means\/articleshowprint\/123765502.cms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ToI<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> | <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.barandbench.com\/news\/bihar-sir-case-live-updates-from-supreme-court\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">B&amp;B<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> | <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/no-citizenship-proof-but-supreme-court-raises-bar-for-exclusion-by-election-commission-10238448\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">IE<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Supreme Court allows Aadhaar as the 12th ID for Bihar\u2019s voter roll revision but clarifies it proves identity, not citizenship. Safeguards mandated for inclusion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":62561,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[2573,60,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-62550","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-aadhaar-identity","9":"tag-mains-articles","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62550","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62550"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62550\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}