Linking Aadhaar with voter ID

Context

The Election Commission of India has asked the Union government to remove the requirement for voters to give reasons if they choose not to link their Aadhaar number with their voter ID card.

Representation of People Act

• The Parliament passed two laws to provide a criminal framework for the behavior of elections:
  • The Representation of the People Act, 1950,
  • The Representation of the People Act, 1951
• The 1950 Act offers for
  • allocation of seats and delimitation of constituencies for elections,
  • qualifications of electorate,
  • guidance of electoral rolls.
• The 1951 Act regulates the actual conduct of elections and with the aid of-elections. It provides for the conduct of elections and offences and disputes associated with elections.
• It additionally offers with the registration of political parties, the qualifications and disqualifications for membership of the Houses.

Previous attempt to link voter card and Aadhaar number

• The EC had in 2015 taken up linking of voter card and Aadhaar variety as a part of its National Electoral Roll Purification and Authentication Programme.
• The purpose of the drive was to take away bogus or replica entries from the electoral roll.
  • Around 32 crore Aadhaar numbers have been seeded at that point.
  • However, this initiative was halted by the Supreme Court in August 2015 via its famous protection of privacy judgement in the Puttaswamy case.
  • This Puttaswamy case has challenged the validity of Aadhar scheme and Aadhar Act, 2016”.
  • In August 2015, the Supreme Court exceeded an intervening time order in this case.
• The order prohibited Aadhaar from getting used for any reason apart from the nation-facilitated distribution of meals grain and cooking fuel including kerosene and LPG.
• In 2019, the EC again proposed linking Aadhaar with the electoral roll, asking the government to amend the election legal guidelines to permit gathering of Aadhaar information
• The government then delivered the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021, which was passed by the Parliament in December 2021, to allow the linking of Aadhaar and Voter IDs.
• Under the Act, the EC re-began the gathering of Aadhaar numbers from July 2022 on a voluntary basis.
• A new Form, Form 6B, was added for present electors to present their Aadhaar wide variety and the shape for brand spanking new registrations was amended as nicely.
• It was again challenged in the Supreme Court.
  • The Form 6B gave simplest two options — both provide the Aadhaar number or say one does no longer possess an Aadhaar.
  • This would force individuals who did not want to present their Aadhaar quantity into creating a false declaration.
  • The petition sought directions to the Election Commission and the government to make amendments so individuals who don’t want to link their Aadhaar and Voter ID have that option.
  • As a result, EC informed the court docket in September that it might make the clarificatory modifications required.

Broad reasons in assist of the linkage

• Improving the accuracy of the electoral rolls, by removing duplication and misrepresentation in electoral rolls;
• Assistance in the ECI’s plans to enforce superior mechanisms along with digital and internet-primarily based voting;
• Giving ‘remote’ voting rights to domestic migrants; and
• To facilitate proxy voting which may also require Aadhaar backing for voter verification.

Source: The Indian express

UPSC Prelims Practice Question

Q.Consider the following statements: (2018)

1. Aadhaar card can be used as a proof of citizenship or domicile.
2. Once issued, Aadhaar number cannot be deactivated or omitted by the Issuing Authority.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a. 1 only                  b. 2 only

c. Both 1 and 2      d. Neither 1 nor 2

Ans – “d”

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