Supreme Court issues notice to the Centre and the States on the petition seeking that 'Aadhaar cards should be used only for identification.'

Important petition filed by Devout Hindu Advocate Shri Ashwini Upadhyay

New Delhi – An important PIL (Public Interest Litigation) regarding Aadhaar Card has been filed in the Supreme Court. The petition demands that the Central Government, all State Governments and union territories as well as the Election Commission, should use Aadhaar Card only as an identity proof. It should not be used as a proof of citizenship, domicile, address or date of birth. The petition has requested the Supreme Court to issue directions to ensure this. The Court has issued notices to all the concerned and sought replies from them. The PIL was filed by advocate Ashwini Upadhyay.

The petition states that ‘Section 9 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016’ clearly states that Aadhaar is not proof of citizenship or residence. Aadhaar is only proof of identity. It is not proof of citizenship, address or date of birth. Despite these legal limitations and earlier court rulings stating that Aadhaar is not proof of age, Aadhaar is widely being used as proof of age, residence and citizenship for purposes such as school admission, property transactions, birth certificates, ration cards and driving licenses.

(This means that such a vast administrative machinery is functioning in disregard of the law. This is shameful for the country! – Editor)

Even foreign citizens residing in India for 182 days (six months) are eligible to obtain Aadhaar.

It has been mentioned in the petition that All residents of India, including foreign citizens who have stayed in India for at least 182 days (six months) are eligible to apply for Aadhaar Card. Aadhaar registration can be done on the basis of certificate issued by a local officer. Infiltrators and illegal immigrants manage to obtain Aadhaar Card due to weak verification systems and then, use the same Aadhaar Card for getting various other documents like ration cards, birth certificates, domicile certificates and voter’s identity cards.