EPIC, Aadhaar, ration card not valid for Bihar voter roll revision: EC to SC

The Election Commission (EC) in a counter-affidavit filed before the Supreme Court stated Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) cannot be accepted as a document for inclusion in the voter role during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar, since under the process, the electoral rolls themselves are under revision.

Electoral rolls under revision

“The EPIC cards are prepared on the basis of electoral rolls. Since the electoral roll, itself, is being revised, the production of EPIC Cards will make the whole exercise futile. The conceptual and procedural integrity of a de-novo revision would stand undermined if EPICs, which are merely reflective of prior entries, are used to validate entries in a roll that is required to be constructed anew,” stated the affidavit, filed by Deputy Election Commissioner Sanjay Kumar on Monday.

“The EPIC, being a by-product of an earlier electoral roll, cannot substitute the verification process mandated for fresh preparation and reliance solely on the EPIC for inclusion or automatic continuance would be contrary to both the scheme and purpose of a fresh revision exercise,” it added.

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'Aadhaar not proof of citizenship'

As for Aadhaar, the EC stated that it would not be recognised as a document for inclusion in the electoral roll as it was not proof of citizenship.

“However, this is not to say that Aadhaar cannot be used to supplement other documents to prove eligibility. It is for this reason that the list is indicative and not exhaustive,” stated the affidavit as quoted by Live Law.

As for its decision to exclude ration cards from the list of accepted documents, the ECI stated, “That it is submitted that given the widespread existence of fake ration cards, it has not been prescribed within a list of 11 documents to be relied upon for screening eligibility under Article 326.”

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'Purity of elections'

The EC further stated that the SIR exercise in Bihar “adds to the purity of elections” by weeding out ineligible persons from the electoral roll.

“The entitlement to vote flows from Article 326 read with Sections 16 and 19 of the RP Act 1950 and Section 62 of the RP Act 1951, which contains certain qualifications with respect to citizenship, age, and ordinary residency. An ineligible person has no right to vote, and thus, cannot claim a violation of Articles 19 and 21 in this regard,” it added.

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'Limited purpose of identity'

Referring to the Supreme Court’s July 17 order wherein it urged the EC to consider Aadhaar, voter and ration cards for the purpose of SIR-2025, the poll panel stated that the said it was considering the said documents for the “limited purpose of identity” during the ongoing SIR process.

“A bare perusal of the enumeration form issued under the SIR Order reveals that the Aadhaar number may be voluntarily furnished by a person furnishing the enumeration form. Such information is utilised for the purpose of identification, in accordance with Section 23(4) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and Section 9 of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016,” stated the EC.

“Section 23(4) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 stipulates the "electoral registration officer may for the purpose of establishing the identity of any person require that such person may furnish the Aadhaar number given by the Unique Identification Authority of India as per the provisions of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016,” it added.

(With agency inouts)