The Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission to consider the Aadhaar card as the 12th identity document. Recently, during a special revision of the voter list conducted in Bihar, 6.5 million names were removed. In this regard, various parties, including the ADR organization, have filed petitions that are being heard by the Supreme Court justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi. This case was brought back for hearing yesterday. Despite the Supreme Court’s directive, the election officials continue to refuse to accept the Aadhaar card as an identity document. Only the 11 documents previously announced are being recognized as valid. Therefore, it is necessary to order the acceptance of the Aadhaar card as the 12th document.The Election Commission has stated that the Aadhaar card is being accepted as a form of identification. However, it cannot be considered a document for citizenship. The authority to verify citizenship lies with the Election Commission when preparing the voter list. Subsequently, when the judges remarked, “The Aadhaar card cannot be accepted as a document for citizenship. Nevertheless, it can be accepted as an identification document. The Election Commission should consider the Aadhaar card as the 12th identification document during the revision of the voter list in Bihar,” they issued this directive. The next hearing of the case has been postponed to September 15. In 2026, the states of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala, Assam, and West Bengal will hold legislative assembly elections. In this regard, Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay has filed a petition in the Supreme Court requesting the release of a timeline for the special revision of the voter list. In response, the judges have directed the Election Commission to provide an answer.
