September 10, 2025 07:20 AM IST First published on: Sep 10, 2025 at 07:20 AM ISTThe Election Commission of India’s (EC) Form 6, through which citizens apply to have their name included in the Electoral Roll, asks for applicants’ Aadhaar details “for the purpose of authentication of entries”. The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voters’ list in Bihar excluded arguably the most ubiquitous proof of identity in India from the list of 11 documents for inclusion into the final electoral roll. This discrepancy was not a mere oversight — it symbolised what appeared to be a fundamental shift in one of the country’s most important, independent and respected institutions. On Monday, the Supreme Court bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Joymala Bagchi ordered that the EC include Aadhaar in the list. The directive has corrected an approach, which, by all accounts, was becoming exclusionary. Moving forward, the EC must respect the spirit of the verdict as much as its letter.In addition to its independence, the EC’s credibility has been built, over decades, on the back of a simple and powerful idea: No citizen — rich or poor, in a high-rise in a big city or in a barely-accessible village in the Himalayas — will be denied the right to vote. In practice, this idea requires a robust process and periodic revisions to ensure accurate electoral rolls, which ensure the inclusion of every citizen and, as a corollary, the exclusion of non-citizens. Unfortunately, in the rushed SIR in Bihar, the focus seemed to be on the corollary rather than the fundamental principle. In the past — for example, before the 2007 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections — such exercises were conducted through door-to-door verification of voters and over longer periods. The onus of “proving” voters’ eligibility was not on the elector but the EC. The SIR, in effect, sought to reverse that burden. By mandating the inclusion of Aadhaar — a biometrically verified document that arguably forms the basis for India’s welfare architecture — the Court has eased that burden, while also making it clear that Aadhaar is not a proof of citizenship, just as many other documents in the list of 11 were not.AdvertisementIt shouldn’t have taken a court order for the EC to include the 12th document in Bihar’s SIR. As early as July, the SC had suggested that Aadhaar be included in the list of accepted documents for the exercise. The EC has said that the SIR will be conducted across states. With the exception of recent events, the Commission has had few blemishes on its record. Moving forward, it should live up to that record — a nudge from the judiciary.