There has been excessive and misplaced debate surrounding the Special Intensive Revision of the electoral roll in Bihar and the push to include Aadhaar as valid proof of citizenship, a legal prerequisite for being enrolled as a voter.

However, Aadhaar is not considered valid proof of citizenship due to the way it was designed, structured, and defined in law.

Here’s why:
Purpose of Aadhaar:
Identity, Not Citizenship

Aadhaar was created to provide a unique identification number to residents of India, not necessarily citizens.
The Aadhaar Act, 2016 defines eligibility as:
“Every resident shall be entitled to obtain an Aadhaar number.”

A resident is defined as anyone who has lived in India for 182 days or more in the preceding 12 months, regardless of nationality.

No Citizenship Verification During Enrollment:

While enrolling for Aadhaar, applicants are not required to submit any documents proving citizenship (such as birth certificates, passports, or naturalization certificates).
Aadhaar requires only basic identity and address proof, which can easily be furnished by non-citizens, whether residing legally or otherwise.

Supreme Court Clarification:

In its 2018 judgment, the Supreme Court of India clearly stated:
“Aadhaar does not establish citizenship; it is meant only for identification of residents

UIDAI’s Own Admission

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which issues Aadhaar, has publicly and repeatedly affirmed:

“Aadhaar is not a document of citizenship or nationality.” It only certifies that the individual exists and is currently residing in India.

Security and Legal Risks

Accepting Aadhaar as proof of citizenship would open the door for illegal immigrants or foreign nationals to falsely claim voting rights and access to entitlements meant exclusively for Indian citizens.

Bottom Line

Aadhaar is a proof of identity and residence, not of citizenship. That is why it is not accepted as valid proof when determining eligibility for:

Voter registration
Government jobs that require Indian citizenship
Certain categories of passports
NRC or similar citizenship-verification exercises

Using Aadhaar to establish citizenship would contradict the very basis of the Aadhaar framework—and risk severely undermining the integrity of critical democratic and legal processes:

Amit Malviya
In-charge of BJP’s National Information & Technology Dept.