On Tuesday, the SC supported that the Election Commission assertion that the Aadhaar card cannot be used as a conclusive proof of citizenship: The SC is hearing the batch of petitions challenging validity of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar
A day after the Supreme Court supported the Election Commission’s assertion that the Aadhaar card cannot be used as a conclusive proof of citizenship, on Wednesday it described the 11 documents being used for identification in Bihar SIR as “voter friendly”.
It is being read as a major blow to opposition and NGOs challenging the June 24 decision of Election Commission to conduct SIR in poll bound Bihar.
The Supreme Court maintained the 11 documents required to be submitted by an elector for Bihar’s special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral roll as opposed to seven documents in summary revision conducted previously showed the exercise was “voter friendly”, according to reports
A Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, which resumed hearing on a batch of pleas challenging the EC’ SIR in Bihar, said despite petitioners’ arguments that non-acceptance of Aadhaar was exclusionary, it appeared the large number of documents was “actually inclusionary”.
“The number of documents in summary revision conducted earlier in the state was seven and in SIR it is 11, which shows it is voter friendly. We understand your arguments that non-acceptance of Aadhaar is exclusionary but a high number of documents is actually inclusionary,” the Bench was quoted as saying
11 documents
The documents required included birth certificate issued by a municipal corporation, panchayat, or any authorised government body showing date and place of birth; Passport; Matriculation or Higher Education Certificate (A school-leaving certificate or university degree that includes the applicant’s date of birth); Government Identity or Pension Document; Domicile Certificate (A permanent residence certificate issued by the district magistrate or similar competent authority); Forest Rights Certificate (Provided under the Forest Rights Act to eligible individuals, mainly from tribal communities), Caste Certificate (Valid for SC, ST, OBC issued by a competent government authority; NRC Document (documents related to the National Register of Citizens); Family Register (household register or similar record maintained by local bodies, listing family members and key details; Land or Housing Allotment Paper and Pre-1987 Government/PSU ID (Any identity document issued by a government body or PSU before 1987).
Aadhar not conclusive proof of citizenship
The court on Tuesday said that the EC is correct in saying that the Aadhaar card cannot be used as a conclusive proof of citizenship as it has to be verified and the poll panel is within its remit to include or exclude someone from the electoral roll on the basis of the citizenship
Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi also called the entire SIR issue nothing but “largely a trust deficit issue”.
