DC Edit | SC’s Aadhaar Ruling Puts EC on Right Path on Rolls
The SC, however, backed the EC’s insistence that only genuine citizens will be allowed to vote and those claiming to be genuine on the basis of forged documents will be excluded from the electoral roll
The directive of the Supreme Court to the Election Commission of India (EC) to include Aadhaar as a 12th prescribed document for establishing the identity of a voter in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar, along with the deliberations at the EC’s brainstorming session with chief electoral officers of the states and Union territories should pave the way for a more transparent, democratic and inclusive roll out of the exercise across the country.
The Bihar SIR was fraught with one too many lapses on the part of the EC which led to the Opposition parties as well as people concerned with electoral process in the largest democracy in the world making a hue and cry about it. While none had a reservation about the right of the EC to do whatever it takes, including an SIR, to ensure the integrity of the electoral roll as per the mandates of the Constitution and the laws, many questioned the way in which the poll panel went about it. The short list of 11 prescribed documents which the electors were supposed to submit with their enumeration forms for consideration in the SIR and the short time period to do so were the main points of contention. The Supreme Court’s timely interventions, which forced the publication of the names that were removed, and the final order have helped the EC make up for the lapses to some extent.
The Supreme Court has now made it mandatory for the EC to accept Aadhaar card as one of the documents while clarifying that it need not be regarded as proof of citizenship and that the commission can ascertain the genuineness of the Aadhaar number becomes significant in that it puts the onus on the poll panel to disprove the claims of a citizen. It seeks to put an end to the arbitrariness which the EC tends to display at times. The SC, however, backed the EC’s insistence that only genuine citizens will be allowed to vote and those claiming to be genuine on the basis of forged documents will be excluded from the electoral roll.
The EC’s immediate response to it was less than encouraging as its counsel went on record saying 99.6 per cent of the 7.24 crore voters in the draft roll had submitted documents and petitions seeking the inclusion of Aadhaar as the 12th document would not serve any practical purpose. As per the SC’s directions, a voter, including those who are among the 65 lakh people whose names have been excised from the list, can still go back to the EC with their Aadhaar card and get themselves enrolled. Moreover, it will allow people across the country to support their claims to be a voter with their Aadhaar card.
The Opposition parties which have been sceptical about the intentions of the EC have a right to remain so but must be part of the process and help the panel in its endeavour to sanctify the electoral roll. It is in their interest, and in the interest of the country, that no foreigner makes it into the voters list. The ECI may also seek the active participation and cooperation of all the political parties in the exercise so that the sanctity of the electoral roll remains beyond doubt.
