The Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday said that linking Aadhaar numbers with voter ID cards will be carried out strictly in accordance with the law and the Supreme Court’s directions. The poll body clarified that the process would be entirely voluntary and guided by constitutional provisions and statutory safeguards.
Meeting held with top government officials
The EC held a high-level meeting with the Union home secretary, the legislative secretary (Law Ministry), the MeitY secretary, and the CEO of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to discuss the Aadhaar-voter ID seeding exercise.
Technical consultations to begin soon
Following the meeting, the EC said that technical consultations between UIDAI and its in-house experts would begin soon to chart the way forward for the exercise.
The poll body underlined that voter card-Aadhaar linking would proceed in line with:
- Article 326 of the Constitution, which ensures voting rights only for Indian citizens,
- Sections 23(4), 23(5), and 23(6) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and
- The Supreme Court’s 2023 judgment on Aadhaar.
Linking is voluntary, not mandatory
The EC reiterated that the law allows voluntary seeding of Aadhaar with voter rolls. The government has informed Parliament that no target or timeline has been fixed for the process. Importantly, names of voters who choose not to link Aadhaar will not be removed from the electoral rolls.
Under the Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021, Section 23 of the Representation of the People Act permits electoral registration officers to request Aadhaar details for identity verification, but only on a voluntary basis.
(With inputs from PTI)