The Supreme Court on Wednesday raised a crucial constitutional question while hearing petitions against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls: Should individuals who possess Aadhaar for welfare benefits automatically be eligible to vote?
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, heading the bench, questioned whether Aadhaar—meant only for identification and access to welfare schemes—should be treated as proof of citizenship for voting rights.
CJI Questions Aadhaar-Voting Link
During the hearing, CJI Kant said that Aadhaar is a statutory document issued for a specific purpose, primarily to help individuals avail government benefits.
He observed:
“If an intruder or migrant working in India is given Aadhaar to access subsidised ration, does that mean he must now be made a voter also?”
The remark came in response to senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Kerala and West Bengal, who argued that even Aadhaar holders were being dropped from voter lists during SIR.
Sibal Flags Exclusion Risk
Sibal contended that the government was ignoring due process while deleting names from voter lists.
He argued:
“If a person declares he is a citizen, lives here, and has Aadhaar, you cannot simply exclude him. Follow due process if you want to remove him.”
He insisted that the system must be inclusive and the burden cannot be placed on citizens to prove their legitimacy.
CJI Defends SIR Process, Cites Bihar Example
CJI Kant said the court had been looking for concrete examples of wrongful exclusions:
“If any bona fide citizen has been removed, we want those cases to correct procedural errors.”
He praised extensive media reporting on SIR, saying it kept the public informed about new draft lists and objections.
Dead Voters Issue Raised
Justice Bagchi responded to Sibal’s suggestion of using software to eliminate duplicate voters.
He said software alone cannot remove deceased voters:
“Dead voters can be misused depending on political dominance. This is why they must be weeded out.”
Political Angle Intensifies
The SIR exercise has triggered a national political storm, with some Opposition parties alleging voter deletions, while the government insists it is cleaning up rolls to prevent fraud.
Kapil Sibal reiterated that the system must protect genuine voters instead of shifting the responsibility onto them.
Originally published on 24×7-news.com.
