Op-ed: After the SIR, use Aadhaar to keep voter rolls clean
The government trusts Aadhaar to pay pensions and deliver rations. Should it also decide who stays on the voter list?
Published 15 September 2026. Written by Pratidin from the reports linked at the end; every fact checked by a separate review before publishing. How we work
An op-ed in The Indian Express on 15 September 2026 argues that the Election Commission (EC) should move from the document-heavy Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls to an Aadhaar-based check. The SIR is a house-to-house re-verification of every elector that began in Bihar in June 2025. Phase I (Bihar) ended in September 2025 with about 47 lakh names deleted. Phase II covered nine States and three Union Territories from October to December 2025 and deleted about 5.18 crore names. Phase III, announced on 14 May 2026, covers 16 States and three Union Territories. The op-ed puts total deletions since June 2025 at over 13 crore. On 27 May 2026 the Supreme Court upheld the SIR as consistent with the Representation of the People Act and within the EC's mandate. According to the op-ed, the Court also made clear that deciding citizenship is for the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), not the EC.
The op-ed's case is about cost and fairness. It says the SIR costs thousands of crores, draws on about 10 lakh public servants, and burdens the poor, the elderly, migrants and women, who often lack the documents demanded or cannot meet tight deadlines. A wrong deletion, it warns, can also cut people off from rations and pensions. It argues that common identity documents are not conclusive proof of citizenship either. It proposes a voluntary linkage of electoral rolls with Aadhaar through a mobile or web platform, at what it calls a modest one-time cost, using face authentication to confirm identity, remove duplicates and check age and address, with analytics flagging outliers for the MHA to review. It cites Aadhaar's record in welfare: savings of over ₹2.7 lakh crore, over 10 crore face authentications on Digi Yatra, and 1.47 crore pensioners verified through Jeevan Pramaan.
The legal frame cuts both ways. Article 324 gives the EC superintendence of electoral rolls, and Section 21(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 lets it direct a special revision. Article 326 limits the vote to citizens aged 18 or more. The Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021 allowed electoral registration officers to ask for Aadhaar to establish identity, but no one can be refused entry or deleted for being unable to give it for sufficient cause. Section 9 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016 says an Aadhaar number is not proof of citizenship or domicile, so Aadhaar can confirm who a person is but not whether that person may vote. Critics of linkage also recall the National Electoral Roll Purification and Authentication Programme (NERPAP) of 2015, when linkage in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana was reported to have removed about 30 lakh voters before the Supreme Court stopped it.
Prelims facts
- Article 324 vests superintendence, direction and control of electoral rolls in the Election Commission; Section 21(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 allows a special revision.
- Article 326: every citizen aged 18 or above who is not disqualified by law can vote; the 61st Amendment (1988) lowered the age from 21.
- The Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021 lets electoral registration officers seek Aadhaar for identity, but no one can be excluded for inability to furnish it for sufficient cause.
- Section 9 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016: an Aadhaar number is not proof of citizenship or domicile.
- The Supreme Court upheld the Special Intensive Revision on 27 May 2026 as within the Election Commission's mandate.
Quick recall
- Which article vests superintendence, direction and control of electoral rolls in the Election Commission?
- Article 324.
- Which provision lets the Election Commission direct a special revision of electoral rolls?
- Section 21(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.
- Which amendment lowered the voting age from 21 to 18?
- The Constitution (61st Amendment) Act, 1988.
- What does Section 9 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016 say?
- An Aadhaar number is not proof of citizenship or domicile.
- What are the four qualifying dates for enrolment after the 2021 amendment?
- 1 January, 1 April, 1 July and 1 October.
- When did the Supreme Court uphold the Special Intensive Revision?
- 27 May 2026.
- Where did the SIR begin, and when?
- Bihar, June 2025 (Phase I).
- What was NERPAP?
- A 2015 Election Commission programme to link voter cards with Aadhaar, stopped after a Supreme Court order.
Prelims practice question
Consider the following statements:
1. Under the Aadhaar Act, 2016, an Aadhaar number is proof of citizenship.
2. Under the Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021, a person cannot be denied inclusion in the electoral roll for being unable to furnish an Aadhaar number for sufficient cause.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer
Answer: (b) 2 only. Statement 1 is incorrect: Section 9 of the Aadhaar Act says an Aadhaar number is not proof of citizenship or domicile. Statement 2 is correct: the 2021 amendment lets registration officers seek Aadhaar for identity but bars denial of inclusion or deletion for inability to furnish it for sufficient cause.
Use this in UPSC Mains: previous-year questions
Recurring theme: Electoral rolls, the Election Commission's powers and citizenship
- How to use this
Use it for the constitutional and statutory basis of the EC's roll revision power and, per an op-ed, the Supreme Court's view that citizenship determination lies with the MHA, not the EC.
- Article 326 gives the vote to every citizen aged 18 or above not disqualified by law (age lowered from 21 by the 61st Amendment, 1988); citizenship is therefore a condition of the franchise.
- Article 324 vests superintendence of electoral rolls in the EC and Section 21(3) of the RP Act, 1950 allows special revision; the Supreme Court upheld the SIR on 27 May 2026 as within this mandate.
- According to an Indian Express op-ed, the Court made clear that deciding citizenship is for the MHA, not the EC; Section 9 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016 says Aadhaar is not proof of citizenship.
- How to use this
The SIR and the Aadhaar linkage debate give a current electoral roll reform to assess, weighing cleaner rolls against exclusion of genuine voters.
- The Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021 lets electoral registration officers seek Aadhaar to establish identity, but no one can be excluded for inability to furnish it for sufficient cause.
- An op-ed puts SIR deletions since June 2025 at over 13 crore and argues voluntary Aadhaar face authentication would cut cost and burden on the poor, elderly, migrants and women.
- Risk to cite: under NERPAP (2015), linkage in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana was reported to have removed about 30 lakh voters before the Supreme Court stopped it.
- How to use this
The op-ed's welfare figures show Aadhaar-based delivery's gains, while its warnings on wrong deletions and authentication failure illustrate DBT-style exclusion risks.
- An op-ed credits Aadhaar in welfare with savings of over ₹2.7 lakh crore and 1.47 crore pensioners verified through Jeevan Pramaan.
- The same op-ed warns that a wrong deletion from records can cut people off from rations and pensions.
- Exclusion risk: authentication failures can wrongly flag genuine voters; by analogy, argue for notice, reasons, a hearing and time-bound appeal before anyone is cut off from benefits.
Mains practice question
Should Aadhaar-based authentication replace document-based verification in the revision of electoral rolls? Examine in the light of the Special Intensive Revision. (250 words)
Model answer
The Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR), upheld by the Supreme Court on 27 May 2026, re-verifies every elector door to door. An Indian Express op-ed argues that voluntary Aadhaar authentication would be cheaper and fairer.
Case for Aadhaar-based verification
- Cost and scale: the op-ed says the SIR costs thousands of crores and uses about 10 lakh public servants.
- Fairness: document demands and tight deadlines fall hardest on the poor, the elderly, migrants and women; the op-ed puts deletions since June 2025 at over 13 crore.
- Proven platform: face authentication, de-duplication and welfare savings of over ₹2.7 lakh crore (op-ed figures).
- Legal opening: the Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021 already allows voluntary Aadhaar for identity.
Limits and risks
- Citizenship gap: Section 9 of the Aadhaar Act says Aadhaar is not proof of citizenship, while Article 326 limits the vote to citizens aged 18 or more.
- Past failure: NERPAP (2015) was reported to have removed about 30 lakh voters in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana before the Supreme Court stopped it.
- Exclusion by technology: authentication failures can wrongly flag genuine voters.
Way forward
- Use Aadhaar voluntarily to confirm identity and remove duplicates.
- Refer only flagged cases for citizenship checks by the competent authority, as the op-ed suggests.
- Give notice, reasons and a hearing before any deletion, with a time-bound appeal.
Aadhaar can make rolls cleaner and cheaper to maintain, but only as an identity tool inside a fair procedure, not as a test of who may vote.
The basics
Why this matters
An electoral roll decides who can vote. Every name wrongly left on it invites fraud, and every name wrongly struck off takes away a vote. The Election Commission's house-to-house Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls has deleted crores of names since June 2025, and an Indian Express op-ed now asks whether Aadhaar can do the job at lower cost.
Two different questions: who you are, and whether you can vote
Identity means proving you are the person you claim to be. Eligibility means proving you meet the legal tests for voting. Under Article 326 and adult suffrage, a voter must be a citizen, at least 18 years old on the qualifying date, and not disqualified by law. Aadhaar can answer the first question well. It cannot, by law, answer the citizenship part of the second: Section 9 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016 says an Aadhaar number is not proof of citizenship or domicile.
- House-to-house visits by Booth Level Officers
- Electors submit documents within fixed deadlines
- Op-ed: costs thousands of crores and about 10 lakh public servants
- Risk: eligible voters without papers are deleted
- Voluntary linking through a mobile or web platform
- Face authentication confirms identity
- Analytics flag duplicates and outliers for the MHA
- Risk: Aadhaar does not prove citizenship; authentication can fail
How the law already links the two
The Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021 let electoral registration officers ask for Aadhaar to establish identity. It added a safeguard: no one can be refused entry or deleted for being unable to give Aadhaar for sufficient cause. So Aadhaar is permitted but not compulsory for voters.
- 3 March 2015NERPAP begins linking voter cards with Aadhaar; later stopped after a Supreme Court order
- December 2021Election Laws (Amendment) Act allows voluntary Aadhaar for identity
- June 2025SIR Phase I begins in Bihar
- October to December 2025SIR Phase II in nine States and three Union Territories
- 14 May 2026SIR Phase III announced for 16 States and three Union Territories
- 27 May 2026Supreme Court upholds the SIR
The trade-off
The SIR's risk is exclusion of real voters who lack papers. An Aadhaar route carries its own risks: failed authentication, privacy, and the fact that it proves identity, not citizenship. The 2015 attempt to link rolls with Aadhaar was reported to have removed about 30 lakh voters in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana before it was stopped.
Go deeper
In one line: An Indian Express op-ed argues that the Election Commission should replace the costly, document-heavy Special Intensive Revision with voluntary Aadhaar-based verification of voters, leaving citizenship questions to the Home Ministry.
Why it matters for UPSC
Electoral rolls sit at the meeting point of Articles 324 and 326, the Representation of the People Act, 1950, the Aadhaar Act and the right to privacy. UPSC asked in 2026 whether the Election Commission can examine voters' citizenship while revising rolls. This op-ed gives a ready argument on both sides.
The core idea
The Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls re-verifies every elector door to door. Under Article 326 and adult suffrage, only citizens aged 18 or more can vote, so the roll must test citizenship, age and residence. The op-ed says Aadhaar can confirm identity, remove duplicates and check age and address cheaply, and that doubtful cases can go to the Ministry of Home Affairs. The legal limits are that Section 9 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016 denies Aadhaar the status of proof of citizenship, and the Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021 keeps Aadhaar voluntary for voters.
Numbers and dates to remember
- June 2025: SIR begins in Bihar; about 47 lakh names deleted in Phase I.
- About 5.18 crore names deleted in Phase II (nine States, three UTs).
- 14 May 2026: Phase III announced for 16 States and three UTs.
- 27 May 2026: Supreme Court upholds the SIR.
- Over 13 crore: deletions since June 2025, as stated by the op-ed.
- 18 years: voting age since the 61st Amendment, 1988.
Where to go next
- Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls: what the SIR is and its legal basis.
- Article 326 and adult suffrage: who is entitled to vote.
- Section 9 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016: why Aadhaar is not proof of citizenship.
- Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021: how Aadhaar entered electoral law.
Go deeper: identity, eligibility and exclusion
The op-ed's case for Aadhaar. The Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls is, in its words, document-intensive, costly and hard on the poor, the elderly, migrants and women. It points out that the government already relies on Aadhaar to deliver welfare, citing savings of over ₹2.7 lakh crore from removing ghost beneficiaries, over 10 crore face authentications on Digi Yatra, and 1.47 crore pensioners verified through Jeevan Pramaan. A voluntary Aadhaar linkage with face authentication, at a modest one-time cost, it argues, would clean duplicates and confirm age and address, while analytics flag outliers for the Home Ministry.
The case for caution. Section 9 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016 says an Aadhaar number is not proof of citizenship or domicile, and Aadhaar can be held by residents who are not citizens. The citizenship test in Article 326 and adult suffrage therefore cannot be met by Aadhaar alone, which is why the op-ed itself sends outliers to the Home Ministry. Linking has gone wrong before: under NERPAP in 2015, linkage in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana was reported to have removed about 30 lakh voters before the Supreme Court stopped the process. Authentication failures and privacy are further concerns.
What the law allows now. Article 324 gives the Election Commission superintendence of the rolls, and Section 21(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 permits a special revision. The Supreme Court upheld the SIR on 27 May 2026 as within the Commission's mandate. The Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021 already lets registration officers seek Aadhaar for identity, with no deletion for inability to give it for sufficient cause. A middle path would combine a voluntary Aadhaar check with a fair procedure for doubtful cases, with notice and a chance to be heard before any deletion.
Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls
What the SIR is, its legal basis and its three phases.
In one line: The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is a house-to-house re-verification of every elector, ordered by the Election Commission under Article 324 and Section 21(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.
How it works
In an ordinary revision, the existing roll is updated with additions and deletions. In an intensive revision, the roll is prepared afresh after Booth Level Officers visit every household and electors establish their eligibility. Section 21(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 lets the Election Commission direct a special revision of the roll for any constituency, at any time, for reasons recorded.
Why it is in the news
The SIR began in Bihar in June 2025 and ended there in September 2025 with about 47 lakh names deleted. Phase II (nine States and three UTs, October to December 2025) deleted about 5.18 crore names. Phase III was announced on 14 May 2026 for 16 States and three UTs, with over 3.94 lakh Booth Level Officers covering about 36.73 crore electors. On 27 May 2026 the Supreme Court upheld the SIR as consistent with the Representation of the People Act and within the Commission's mandate.
Where to go next
Article 326 and adult suffrage
Who is entitled to vote, and why the roll must test citizenship.
In one line: Article 326 says elections to the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies are held on adult suffrage: every citizen aged 18 or more who is not disqualified by law may vote.
The rule
Article 326 gives the vote to every person who is a citizen of India and not less than 18 years of age on the date fixed by law, unless disqualified on grounds such as non-residence, unsoundness of mind, crime, or corrupt or illegal practice. The original text set the age at 21; the Constitution (61st Amendment) Act, 1988 lowered it to 18.
Why it matters here
Because the vote belongs only to citizens, an electoral roll has to test citizenship, not just identity. That is why the SIR asks for documents and why the op-ed on Aadhaar proposes sending doubtful cases to the Ministry of Home Affairs, which handles citizenship. The same point was examined by UPSC in 2026: whether the Election Commission can itself examine voters' citizenship while revising rolls.
Where to go next
Section 9 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016
Why Aadhaar proves identity but not citizenship.
In one line: Section 9 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016 says an Aadhaar number, or its authentication, is not by itself proof of citizenship or domicile.
What Aadhaar is
Aadhaar is a 12-digit number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which became a statutory authority on 12 July 2016 under the Aadhaar Act. The Act was introduced as a Money Bill on 3 March 2016 and passed by the Lok Sabha on 11 March 2016. Section 7 lets the government require a person to have an Aadhaar number to receive a subsidy, benefit or service. UIDAI added face authentication as a mode of verification in 2018.
Why Section 9 matters for voter rolls
Aadhaar is issued to residents, not only to citizens. So it can prove that a person is who they say they are, and help find duplicate entries, but it cannot prove that a person is entitled to vote. Any Aadhaar-based roll check therefore needs a separate step for citizenship.
Where to go next
Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021
How Aadhaar entered electoral law, and the sufficient-cause safeguard.
In one line: The Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021 allowed electoral registration officers to seek Aadhaar to establish identity, while protecting those who cannot provide it.
What it changed
The Bill amended the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and was passed by the Lok Sabha on 20 December 2021 and the Rajya Sabha on 21 December 2021. It lets an electoral registration officer require a person to furnish an Aadhaar number to establish identity. Persons cannot be denied inclusion in the roll, or have their names deleted, if they are unable to furnish Aadhaar for sufficient cause as prescribed. The Act also replaced the single qualifying date of 1 January with four: 1 January, 1 April, 1 July and 1 October.
Why it matters now
The Act makes Aadhaar a voluntary identity check, not a condition for voting. The op-ed's proposal would build on this route. Earlier, the 2015 NERPAP drive to link voter cards with Aadhaar was stopped after a Supreme Court order.
Where to go next
Take the 15 September 2026 quiz: 30 Prelims-style questions with answers