Aadhaar not enough for enrolment as a voter: CEC Gyanesh Kumar

Asked if Aadhaar, the biometric identification of residents, will be accepted as a document for enumeration as a voter in the rest of the states where Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is due, the CEC evaded giving a direct answer. He, however, pointed out that the Aadhaar Act itself states that it is not proof of citizenship.

Multiple Supreme Court judgments, he added, had also made it clear that Aadhaar is no proof of either age or residence.

The CEC went on to add that since only Indian citizens above the age of 18 are eligible to exercise their right to franchise, Aadhaar alone will not be enough to enrol as voters in future enumerations.

He, however, referred to enumeration forms distributed in Bihar asking for Aadhaar and clarified that the Election Commission of India had accepted the direction of the Supreme Court and accepted Aadhaar as one of the documents in Bihar during the SIR.

The CEC added to the confusion by also saying that providing Aadhaar is strictly optional and not compulsory. What was left unexplained was whether the exercise of SIR enrolled voters in the state who submitted only their Aadhaar and no other document.

The Election Commission had stoutly objected to suggestions made by the Supreme Court and petitioners challenging SIR that because 90 per cent of Bihar’s population did have Aadhaar and would find it difficult to submit any other document related to land holding, matriculation certificate, birth certificates of self and parents etc., ECI should add it as the ‘12th document’.

The Supreme Court was finally left with no option but to direct the ECI to include Aadhaar for the SIR exercise in Bihar.

The CEC’s statement in Patna on Sunday appeared to confirm the suspicion voiced by several opposition parties that in other states, the ECI will ensure that Aadhaar is denied as a valid document for enumeration.

The CEC also evaded two pointed questions on how many foreigners the exercise of SIR had detected in Bihar.

The final electoral list of 7.42 crore as opposed to 8.18 crore people in the state above the age of 18, he reiterated, had dropped 68.66 lakh names from the revised list of January-June, 2025.

The CEC confirmed that this figure included all the categories for ineligibility as voters, i.e. death, migration, duplication and those who are ‘not citizens’. No break-up was provided during the power-point presentation at the press conference either.

One of the reporters named a village, Mohanpur, and claimed that although it has always been a wholly Hindu village, villagers were shocked to find around 100 Muslim names in the draft list released on 1 August.

Consider Aadhaar as 12th prescribed document for Bihar SIR: SC to EC

However, despite filing objections, there has been no correction and the final list too included the same names. What was then the point of SIR, he asked. The CEC directed the Bihar CEO to look into the specific case and make corrections.

The CEC also reiterated that objections and corrections can still be filed to the ERO/District Magistrate in each of the constituencies till 10 days before the commencement of filing of nominations. The lists, he added, had been provided to the political parties and the Booth Level Agents and they could also conduct their scrutiny and file objections.