On Tuesday, the EC held a meeting with top government officials, including the Union Home Secretary, the Legislative Secretary from the Law Ministry, the Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), and the CEO of UIDAI. This meeting focused on linking Aadhaar with voter ID (Elector Photo Identity Card – EPIC).
The Election Commission of India (EC) has announced that linking Aadhaar with Voter ID will be done according to the law and the Supreme Court’s directions.
It also mentioned that technical discussions between the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and EC’s experts will “begin soon“.
On Tuesday, the EC held a meeting with top government officials, including the Union Home Secretary, the Legislative Secretary from the Law Ministry, the Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), and the CEO of UIDAI. This meeting focused on linking Aadhaar with voter ID (Elector Photo Identity Card – EPIC).
Aadhaar Proves Identity, But Voting Is for Citizens Only
The Election Commission clarified that while only Indian citizens can vote as per Article 326 of the Constitution, Aadhaar is only a tool to establish identity.
In its official statement, the EC said, “Therefore, it was decided that the linking of elector photo identity card (EPIC) with Aadhaar will be done only as per the provisions of Article 326 of the Constitution, sections 23(4), 23(5) and 23(6) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and in line with the Supreme Court judgment (of 2023).”
The EC also mentioned that “technical consultations between UIDAI and the EC’s technical experts are to begin soon” to ensure the linking process follows all legal and technical guidelines.
Aadhaar-Voter ID Linking is Voluntary Not Mandatory
Following the Supreme Court’s final ruling in Puttaswamy (September 2018), which upheld the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar Act, the Election Commission (EC) sought amendments to the Representation of the People Act, 1950 (RP Act, 1950).
In December 2021, Parliament amended the RP Act, 1950, and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, enabling the linking of EPIC with Aadhaar. The amendments outlined the format for submitting Aadhaar details to the electoral registration officer—either through Form 6 (for identity verification by new voters) or Form 6B (for authentication by existing voters).
If a voter lacks an Aadhaar number, any other listed document may be submitted. To maintain the voluntary nature of these amendments, the word ‘may’ was used. Additionally, the amendments ensure that no application for voter registration is denied, nor is any entry deleted, solely due to the inability to provide an Aadhaar number for a ‘sufficient cause.’
As per the law, providing an Aadhaar number to link with voter ID is voluntary. The government has informed Parliament that the Aadhaar-voter card linking is a “process-driven” initiative and that no deadline or target has been set for completing this exercise.
Additionally, the government has assured that “names of those who do not link their Aadhaar details with the voters’ list will not be struck off the electoral rolls.”
The Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021 introduced changes to Section 23 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950. This allows electoral registration officers to ask existing or new voters to provide their Aadhaar number on a voluntary basis to verify their identity.
FOLLOW US FOR MORE LEGAL UPDATES ON YOUTUBE
