EC told the Supreme Court that Aadhaar can be used only for identity verification, not citizenship, in Bihar’s voter list update.
The commission said it already issued instructions to the Bihar CEO after the court’s September 8 clarification.
EC cited UIDAI’s stance that Aadhaar is not proof of citizenship, residence, or birth, responding to a plea seeking limits on its use.
EC Tells Supreme Court Aadhaar Can Verify Identity, Not Citizenship, for Bihar Voter List Update
Poll panel says it has already issued instructions to Bihar CEO after the court’s clarification on Aadhaar’s limited use under the RPA.
Summary
The Election Commission informed the Supreme Court that it had already published guidelines for using the Aadhaar card to verify identification rather than citizenship in order to add or remove people from Bihar's updated voter list.
The poll panel stated in a statement submitted to the highest court that the court had already explained how Aadhaar is used to update the voter list on September 8.
According to Section 23(4) of the Representation of the People Act (RPA), 1950, the court had declared that the Aadhaar card could be used to confirm identity.
The RPA's Section 23 addresses adding names to electoral rolls.
"… by following the aforesaid order, the commission has already issued instructions dated September 9, 2025, to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Bihar for usage of Aadhaar card as proof of identity and not as proof of citizenship… for the purpose of inclusion or exclusion in the revised voter list of the state of Bihar," the poll panel said.
Advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay filed an interlocutory application, requesting that Aadhaar be used exclusively for identity and authentication purposes in accordance with Section 23(4) of the RPA, 1950. The Election Commission (EC) responded to this request.
According to the poll panel, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) stated in an office memo (OM) in August 2023 that Aadhaar was not evidence of citizenship, place of residence, or birthdate.
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It stated that the Bombay High Court alluded to the OM in a case, ruling that the burden of evidence is on the Aadhaar holder and that the OM was, in fact, not proof of birthdate.
"It is also important to highlight that this court vide its order dated September 8, 2025… has already clarified the usage of Aadhaar for the purpose of inclusion and exclusion in the voter list," the EC said.
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On October 7, the top court issued notice on Upadhyay's application.
The bench had observed that the apex court had already said Aadhaar was not the proof of citizenship and domicile. The application was filed in a pending plea seeking a direction to the EC to conduct Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls at regular intervals throughout the country.
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