Supreme Court To Hear Plea Seeking Restriction On Use of Aadhaar As Proof of Citizenship

New Delhi: The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that seeks to strictly limit the operational usage of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)-issued Aadhaar card. 

The plea alleges widespread misuse of the identification document, arguing it is frequently misrepresented as definitive proof of citizenship, domicile, and residential address, rather than its statutory purpose as a mere tool for identity verification.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice V Mohana is slated to preside over the matter. 

Filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay through advocate Ashwani Dubey, the petition urges the apex court to issue comprehensive directives to the Central Government, state administrations, and the Election Commission of India (ECI). 

The core objective is to ensure that the document remains confined strictly to establishing identity.

The petitioner contends that the current ground-level implementation routinely violates the statutory boundaries established by the legislature. 

The plea explicitly highlights that Section 9 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016, categorically dictates that the system does not provide evidence of citizenship or domicile. 

Furthermore, it references a formal notification issued by the UIDAI on August 22, 2023, which reiterated that the unique identification number acts solely as validation of identity, not as a verification of an individual’s citizenship, permanent address, or date of birth.

Despite these established legal boundaries, the petition argues that the document is being erroneously accepted as a primary certificate for age, nationality, and residency across a wide spectrum of public and private transactions. 

These include executing property purchases, finalising school admissions, and obtaining critical statutory records like birth certificates, ration cards, and driving licenses.

Most critically, the petitioner points out a security vulnerability regarding national security and demographic integrity. 

The plea notes that the identification number is currently accepted in the official application form for new voter registration (Form-6) to satisfy both date of birth and residential criteria. 

The petition sounds an alarm that this systemic loophole enables infiltrators and illegal immigrants to acquire a suite of auxiliary official documents, allowing them to masquerade as Indian citizens.

As the Supreme Court prepares to hear the arguments, the outcome could significantly reshape how government departments and local bodies process foundational identification protocols, forcing a stricter legislative line between identity verification and the legal rights of citizenship.

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