New Delhi

TheSupreme Court on Tuesday sought response of the Centre and States on a plea alleging misuse of the Unique Identification Authority of India-issued Aadhaar cards as proof of citizenship, domicile and residential address, and seeking directions to restrict its use strictly for identity verification.

A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice V Mohana issued notices to the Centre and all the states and UTs on a plea filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay and tagged it with the pending similar matters.

The plea has sought directions to the Centre, states and the Election Commission to ensure that Aadhaar is used as a proof of identity and not as a proof of citizenship, domicile, address and date of birth.

The plea, filed through advocate Ashwani Dubey, also sought directions that the use of Aadhaar as a proof of date of birth and residence in the application form for new voter registration be considered against Section 9 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016, Section 23(4) of the RPA, 1950 and Article 14 of the Constitution.

"Section 9 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016 expressly states that 'Aadhaar is not the evidence of citizenship or domicile'. The Unique Identification Authority of India notification dated August 22, 2023 clearly states that 'Aadhaar is proof of identity, not of citizenship, address or date of birth'. The petition contended that the existing verification mechanism under Form-6 is inadequate and might allow individuals without proper supporting documents to be included in the electoral database.