Any of the 11 documents accepted for SIR verification are susceptible to falsification: petitioner counters EC in Supreme Court

Petitioner-NGO Association for Democratic Reforms on Saturday (July 26, 2025) countered the Election Commission of India’s (EC) refusal to accept Aadhaar, Voter ID, and ration card as valid “standalone” proof for inclusion in the electoral roll during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) as “patently absurd”.

On July 10, the Supreme Court had asked the top poll body to consider these three documents for the SIR, reasoning they formed the foundational records to obtain any of the 11 documents, including residence and caste certificates, listed by the Election Commission for the verification of voters.

The EC justified that Aadhaar, Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC), and ration card could easily be faked.

But the NGO, represented by advocates Prashant Bhushan and Neha Rathi, said any of the 11 documents were equally prone to fraud.

“It is pertinent to note that the 11 documents included in the approved list are equally susceptible to being procured on the basis of fake or false documentation, thereby rendering the ECI’s rationale baseless, inconsistent and arbitrary,” the NGO’s rejoinder said.

The NGO referred to data in the EC’s affidavit detailing the expansive coverage of the 11 eligibility documents, including 13.89 crore residence certificates and 8.72 crore caste certificates issued from 2011 to 2025.

“It is interesting to note that the same far exceed the total number of electors in the electoral rolls. If residence certificates can be accepted as eligibility proof of SIR 2025, despite their total number exceeding Bihar’s current aggregate population, there is no reason why ration cards be rejected as a document on the grounds of being prone to forgery,” the NGO argued.

It said Aadhaar was accepted as proof for obtaining several of the 11 eligibility documents, including permanent residence certificate, Other Backward Class (OBC)/Scheduled Caste (SC)/Scheduled Tribe (ST) certificate, and passport.

“This makes the EC’s rejection of Aadhaar, which is the most widely held document, patently absurd,” the rejoinder said.

The EC had filed a counter affidavit on July 21 claiming plenary powers to conduct the SIR, the authority to determine citizenship, and that a large portion of the population in Bihar already possessed one or more of the 11 documents.

The NGO countered a claim by the EC that political parties were fully backing the SIR.

“Not a single political party had asked EC for a de novo exercise such as the one prescribed in the instant SIR order. The concerns of political parties were on the issue of addition of non-existent votes, and deletion of genuine votes supporting the Opposition parties, and on the issue of casting of votes after closure of polls… the EC’s counter affidavit fails to substantiate or justify the necessity of the SIR in Bihar, or the broader push for a nationwide citizenship verification of electors,” the NGO said.

It said people whose names are not found in the draft electoral roll for Bihar would not have the time to file appeals, prove their citizenship, and get re-enrolled in time for the Bihar Assembly election, likely to be held in November.