New Delhi:The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought responses from the Centre and state governments on a petition alleging that Aadhaar cards are being wrongly used as proof of citizenship, domicile and address.

The petition has asked the court to direct authorities to restrict the use of Aadhaar only to identity verification.

A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice V Mohan issued notices to the Centre, all states and Union Territories on the petition filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay.

The petition seeks directions to the Centre, state governments and the Election Commission of India to ensure that Aadhaar is used only as proof of identity and not as proof of citizenship, domicile, address or date of birth. Section 9 of the Aadhaar Act clearly states that Aadhaar is not proof of citizenship or domicile. UIDAI’s notification dated August 22, 2023, also clarified that Aadhaar is only proof of identity, not of citizenship, address, or date of birth. Aadhaar is being used as proof of age, citizenship, and residence in processes such as school admissions, property purchases, obtaining birth certificates, ration cards, and driving licenses. The petition claims that due to this, infiltrators and illegal immigrants are also obtaining other documents based on Aadhaar.

The petitioner has also raised questions about the voter registration verification process. According to the petition, the document verification under Form-6 is not sufficient and can lead to the inclusion of names of people in the voter list who do not possess the necessary valid documents. The petition demands comprehensive reforms in the verification framework used in the electoral process.

Along with this, it suggests the formation of a high-level monitoring committee, which should include retired Supreme Court judges, cybersecurity experts, and forensic experts.