New Delhi, Sep 8 (PTI) The Trinamool Congress on Monday welcomed the Supreme Court's direction to include Aadhaar in the list of prescribed documents for establishing a voter's identity during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar.

TMC Rajya Sabha deputy leader Sagarika Ghose called the development a big win for democracy and the Opposition. "The Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission of India to accept the Aadhaar card as the twelfth verifying document in the Special Intensive Revision exercise or the SIR exercise," she said.

Pointing out how the Election Commission earlier refused to accept Aadhaar as proof of identity and citizenship, Ghose mentioned, "this is a victory for all those who believe in democracy in India, for all those who believe in the Constitution of India, the Election Commission must admit that by becoming the branch office of the Bharatiya Janata Party, it has failed the SIR test." Echoing similar sentiments, TMC MP Mahua Moitra, in a post on X, hailed the apex court's decision and said, "Vote chori and mass disenfranchisement just got more difficult for ECI. Satyameva Jayate. Still miles to go, though." The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Election Commission to include Aadhaar as a 12th prescribed document for establishing the identity of a voter in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise of the electoral roll in poll-bound Bihar.

Currently, there are 11 prescribed documents that voters must submit along with their enumeration forms for the SIR in Bihar.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, however, clarified that Aadhaar will not be a proof of citizenship and the commission can ascertain the genuineness of the Aadhaar card number submitted by an elector for inclusion in the electoral roll. PTI AO MPL MPL

Aadhaar inclusion in voter identity list expands acceptable documents, subject to verification and not establishing citizenship. Direction to accept Aadhaar as an additional prescribed document for identity in the Special Intensive Revision requires the Election Commission to include Aadhaar among documents submitted with enumeration forms, while clarifying that Aadhaar is not proof of citizenship and that the Commission may verify the genuineness of any Aadhaar number before including an elector in the electoral roll.