National News

ECI on proof of voter eligibility

July 28 , 2025 13 hrs 0 min 48 0

The Election Commission (EC) assured the Supreme Court the following.
A person will not cease to be a citizen merely on being found ineligible for registration in the electoral rolls under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
It said electors whose names already feature in the electoral rolls of Bihar in 2003 were exempted from furnishing documents to prove their eligibility.
The last intensive revision was held in 2003.
The EC said it was vested under the law and Constitution (326) with the power to request proof of citizenship for “enabling the constitutional right to vote”.
Though the Supreme Court had asked the EC to consider including Aadhaar, voter ID and ration cards in the list of 11 indicative documents to register voters, the EC said they cannot be accepted as “standalone documents” for SIR.
Aadhaar is merely a proof of identity.
The Aadhaar card itself carries a disclaimer that it is not proof of citizenship.
The poll body pointed to the “widespread issuance of bogus ration cards”, making the document untrustworthy.
As for the Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC), it reasoned that they were prepared based on the electoral rolls.