The Supreme Court said on Monday, July 28, 2025, that “any document in the world can be faked” in response to the Election Commission’s statement that voter ID, Aadhaar, and ration cards can all be forged.
In the Bihar Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, the Supreme Court urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to recognise Aadhaar and EPIC (Electors Photo Identity Card) as legitimate identity documents. The court underlined that “inclusive, not exclusionary” should be the aim of such a procedure in an electoral democracy.
The ECI rejected the Supreme Court’s recommendation, citing its concerns about the ease of forging Aadhaar, voter ID, and ration cards, even though the draft electoral roll was due to be published on August 1.
To avoid widespread disenfranchisement, the Supreme Court had requested on July 10 that the ECI take these three documents into consideration. Political groups and activists were among the petitioners who had denounced the SIR as a “citizenship verification exercise.”
The Supreme Court’s Views
Speaking alongside Justice Joymalya Bagchi at the ECI, Justice Surya Kant stated:
It is possible to falsify any document on Earth. Perhaps one EPIC out of every thousand is fake. Each case can be reviewed and addressed separately. You don’t have to reject everyone, though. Most people consider EPIC and Aadhaar to be reliable sources of identification. Justice Kant pointed out that the ECI itself issues EPIC and that Aadhaar has an integrated verification system.
“So, move forward with EPIC and Aadhaar… Add both to the list of the eleven documents that have been approved,” he continued.
Given that even the other 11 documents already recognised as identification proof—such as caste or residency certificates—are inconclusive, Justice Bagchi questioned the ECI’s reasoning for rejecting these IDs.
“Why wouldn’t you consider adding Aadhaar to the voter list if it is submitted as identification and none of these documents are definitive?” He enquired.
Timeline and Legal Arguments
The petitioners were represented by Kapil Sibal and Gopal Sankaranarayanan, whereas the ECI was represented by senior attorneys K.K. Venugopal and Rakesh Dwivedi. The bench stated that on July 29, it would make the final hearing schedule public.
The Supreme Court was informed by Mr. Sankaranarayanan that the draft list was due on August 1.
Justice Kant noted, however, that this was only a draft and that the Supreme Court’s authority to reverse any subsequent decision would not be affected because the petitioners had not requested an interim stop on its release or the SIR process—provided they presented a strong argument.
A senior counsel warned that if 4.5 crore persons were kept off the draft roll, they would be placed in a state of uncertainty and would be solely responsible for the burden of proof, objection, and review.
Justice Bagchi responded by citing the ECI’s affidavit, which said that everyone on Bihar’s current 2025 voter list would remain on the draft regardless of whether they provided supporting documentation.
On January 7, 2015, the current voter list was released following a special summary revision.
Based on the ECI’s 88-page affidavit:
“In actuality, simply by submitting the enumeration form, every voter currently on the 2025 list will be included in the draft.”
Some will have another chance to be on the final roll if they don’t submit their paperwork in time. Following the draft’s publication, the claims period will end on September 1, 2025. On September 30, 2025, the final voter list will be made public.
Additionally, the ECI has guaranteed that:
Up until the deadline for nominations for the next Bihar elections, new voters can still be registered even after the final list is released. Therefore, there is no reason to be afraid about widespread disenfranchisement.
Additionally, voters who were included in the 2003 voter list—the most recent significant revision—will not have to resubmit their paperwork.
According to the affidavit, all they have to do is submit an excerpt from the 2003 list and a partially completed enumeration form.