Supreme court rules aadhaar as identity proof, not citizenship proof
Court directs election commission to recognize aadhaar as 12th document in bihar voter verification process
NewsArc Bureau
New Delhi, September 8, 2025 — The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that Aadhaar serves as proof of identity but not citizenship during the hearing of petitions challenging the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists in Bihar. A bench comprising Justices Suryakant and Joymalya Bagchi ordered the Election Commission to accept Aadhaar as the 12th document for voter identity verification, supplementing the existing list of 11 documents required for voter forms. The court emphasized that any doubts regarding Aadhaar’s authenticity should be investigated by the commission to ensure only genuine citizens are included in the voter list, excluding those using forged documents.
The hearing saw senior advocate Kapil Sibbal, representing Congress, argue that despite the court’s July 10 directive to consider Aadhaar, 65 lakh individuals were still denied its acceptance. He highlighted that Booth Level Officers (BLOs) accepting documents beyond the 11 specified were being issued show-cause notices by the Election Commission, a claim contested by commission counsel Rakesh Dwivedi, who denied possession of such notices. The court directed the commission to present the notices and scheduled the next hearing for September 15. This ruling aims to address concerns over voter exclusion while maintaining electoral integrity in the ongoing SIR process.
