The Supreme Court on Wednesday voiced serious concern over instances of non-citizens managing to obtain Aadhaar cards, questioning whether possession of the document should ever be linked to voting rights. Emphasising the limited purpose of the Aadhaar system, the court noted that the identification number was created solely to ensure that social welfare benefits reach eligible individuals, and must not be misconstrued as evidence of citizenship.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, while hearing petitions challenging the Election Commission’s decision to conduct Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in several states, clarified that an Aadhaar card cannot serve as “absolute proof of citizenship”.
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“That is why we have said Aadhaar will remain only one among several documents. If a voter’s name is deleted, the individual must be issued a notice,” the bench observed.
Reiterating legal provisions, the court pointed out that the Aadhaar Act itself explicitly states that the document does not confer citizenship or establish domicile, reinforcing its stand that Aadhaar should not be used to determine voting eligibility.
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