Aadhar card proof of citizenship? Election commission issues clarification

SIR Phase 2: The election commission will be conducting the SIR exercise from Tuesday (Oct 28) in 12 states and Union Territories (UTs), and it will be completed on February 7, 2026 - when the final electoral rolls of these states will be published.

Written by Ajay kumar

Updated: October 27, 2025 19:17 IST

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ECI addressing press on the schedule of Phase 2 of SIR in 12 states and UTs. (PTI)

SIR Phase 2: Aadhaar card is neither proof of date of birth or domicile, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar reiterated on Monday as the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the much-awaited schedule for the phase-2 of its Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter roll.

The CEC added that Aadhaar card is also not a proof of citizenship, but maintained that it can be used as a proof of identity by the citizens during the phase 2 of the SIR.

“Regarding Aadhaar, the Supreme Court has clarified that its use must comply with the Aadhaar Act. Section 9 of the Act states that Aadhaar cannot serve as proof of domicile or citizenship. Similarly, several Supreme Court rulings have confirmed that Aadhaar is not proof of date of birth. In line with this, the Aadhaar authority has issued notifications emphasizing this point…” CEC Gyanesh Kumar said.

The election commission will be conducting the SIR exercise from Tuesday (Oct 28) in 12 states and Union Territories (UTs), and it will be completed on February 7, 2026 – when the final electoral rolls of these states will be published.

The clarification came as the ECI laid down the list of documents that citizens, who were not there on the voter roll in 2003-04 or cannot be mapped to any relative, will have to furnish to prove their citizenship.

Why the clarification?

Announcing the schedule and process of the SIR, the CEC said that there are 12 indicative documents that would be valid during the SIR. These include

1. Any Identity card/Pension Payment Order issued to regular employee/pensioner of any Central Govt./State Govt./PSU.

2. Any Identity Card/Certificate/Document issued in India by Government/local authorities/Banks/Post Office/LIC/PSUs prior to 01.07.1987.

3. Birth Certificate issued by the competent authority.

4. Passport

5. Matriculation/Educational certificate issued by recognised Boards/universities

6. Permanent Residence certificate issued by competent State authority

7. Forest Right Certificate

8. OBC/SC/ST or any caste certificate issued by the Competent authority

9. National Register of Citizens (wherever it exists)

10. Family Register, prepared by State/Local authorities.

11. Any land/house allotment certificate by Government

12. For Aadhaar, Commission’s directions issued vide letter No. 23/2025-ERS/Vol.II dated 09.09.2025 shall apply.

This means that the Aadhaar card will be accepted only as the proof of identity, and not as proof of birth, residence or citizenship.

During the Bihar SIR, petitions were filed in the Supreme Court stating that the ECI was not accepting Aadhaar as the document for inclusion or exclusion in the list. The EC argued Aadhaar cannot act as a proof of citizenship, to which, the SC directed the poll panel to consider it in the list as the 12th document – but as a proof of identity.

Will having Aadhaar ensure inclusion in the SIR list?

Now, the question arises if having an Aadhaar card ensures that a person will be included in the list post-SIR. The answer is no. The Supreme Court in its order on Sept 9, 2025, clearly said, “…We direct the Election Commission of India and its

authorities to accept Aadhar Card as a proof of identity for the purpose of inclusion or exclusion in the revised voter list of the State of Bihar.”

“Aadhaar Card, for this purpose, shall be treated as the 12th document by the Authorities,” the court said. However, it clarified that “the authorities shall be entitled to verify the authenticity and genuinity of the Aadhaar Card, like

any of the other enumerated documents, by seeking further proof/documents”.

This implies that consideration of Aadhaar for the inclusion in the list will be on the sole discretion of the Election Commission of India.

SIR Phase 2 in 12 states, UTs

The ECI has said that SIR will begin in 12 states and UTs from Tuesday (Oct 28). The home-to-home enumeration will start from Nov 4 and the draft roll will be published on Dec 9.

States where SIR phase 2 will be done: