Aadhaar, voter list of Bihar post-SIR included in documents for electoral roll cleanup in 12 states 

The Election Commission has included the voters’ list of Bihar published after the special intensive revision and Aadhaar card in the list of indicative documents people will have to submit in the 12 states and union territories where the electoral roll cleanup exercise was announced on Monday.

In its instructions issued to the chief electoral officers of the states and UTs, the poll authority said electoral registration officers will issue notices to those electors whose previous SIR electoral roll details provided in the enumeration forms are either not available or do not match the database.

The elector, it said, can provide the documents based on the different categories.

These documents include any identity card or pension payment order issued to a regular employee or pensioner of any central or state government or PSU; any identity card or certificate or document issued in India by the government/local authorities/banks/post office/LIC/PSUs prior to July 1, 1987.

Birth certificate issued by the competent authority; passport; matriculation or educational certificate issued by recognised boards or universities; permanent residence certificate issued by the competent state authority; forest right certificate; OBC/SC/ST or any caste certificate issued by the competent authority.

Also included in the list are National Register of Citizens (wherever it exists); family register, prepared by state or local authorities; any land or house allotment certificate by the government; Aadhaar; and an extract of the electoral roll of Bihar SIR with reference to July 01, 2025.

Explaining the rational behind including Bihar’s electoral roll published after the SIR there in the list of documents for the second phase of the exercise, an official said, “Suppose, a person seeking inclusion of name in the voters’ list of one of the 12 states provides extract of the Bihar list post-SIR having the names of his parents in it then he won’t have to give any additional proof of his citizenship except for the date of birth.”

In September, the Election Commission asked its Bihar poll machinery to accept the Aadhaar card as an additional document to establish the identity of electors following the Supreme Court’s directives.

In the letter to the state chief electoral officer, the commission had said, “Aadhaar card shall be treated as the 12^th document, in addition to the 11 documents listed.”

The EC made it clear that the Aadhaar card is to be accepted and utilised as a “proof of identity and not as a proof of citizenship”, in terms of Section 9 of the Aadhaar (Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act.