Onlykashmir.in News Desk
The Supreme Court of India on Monday issued notices to the central government and all state governments and Union Territories, seeking their responses to a petition that has flagged the widespread misuse of Aadhaar cards as proof of citizenship, domicile, and residential address, a practice the petition argues goes far beyond the original statutory purpose of the unique identification document.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice V Mohana issued the notices after hearing the plea, which contends that Aadhaar is being routinely accepted by government agencies and private entities as documentary evidence for purposes it was never designed or legally authorised to serve. The petition specifically seeks judicial directions to restrict the use of Aadhaar strictly to identity verification, preventing its acceptance as proof of citizenship or domicile status.
The petition also raises concerns about electoral integrity. It contends that the existing verification mechanism under Form-6, used for inclusion in voter rolls, is insufficiently robust and may allow individuals who lack adequate supporting documentation to be enrolled in the electoral database. The plea appears to be drawing attention to a gap between the administrative convenience of using Aadhaar as a universal document and the legal framework governing what Aadhaar is actually designed to certify.
Aadhaar, issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India, is designed as a proof of identity and biometric registration. It establishes that a person exists and has a registered identity within the UIDAI database, but it does not, by design, establish citizenship, domicile, or the right to vote. These distinctions carry significant practical and constitutional consequences.
The Supreme Court’s decision to seek responses from the Centre and states places the issue squarely before all relevant governmental stakeholders. The case, if it proceeds to a substantive hearing, could have wide implications for documentation practices across public service delivery systems and for the frameworks governing electoral roll management in the country.
