The Election Commission (EC) is waiting eagerly for the Supreme Court to hear its application and allow it to resume linking of Aadhaar to Electors' Photo Identity Card (EPIC). An application from EC requesting the apex court to permit it to go ahead with the linkage of the two crucial documents is already pending.

Sources in the EC said, "We are hopeful that the Supreme Court would positively consider our application in the larger interest of a fair and transparent electoral system."

The hope among the EC officials arises from the apex court allowing the Centre to link Permanent Account Number (PAN) with Aadhaar on June 9. The court has also allowed the central and state governments to use Aadhaar in various services.

Several union ministries have filed applications with the Supreme Court to allow respective schemes to be linked to Aadhaar.

As a result, Aadhaar is now accepted as a valid identity proof by the governments for availing services such as opening of bank and insurance accounts, bank transactions, passport application, telephone and mobile phone connections, buying rail tickets and availing concessions.

Aadhaar was first used to pass on the subsidies of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) such as in the purchase of LPG cylinder and payment of MGNREGA. As of now, over 90 centrally-sponsored schemes from 19 ministries are implemented through DBT, which itself is linked with Aadhaar.

ELECTION COMMISSION LAUNCHES NERPAP

On February 27, 2015, the Election Commission issued guidelines for linking EPIC with Aadhaar as part of the National Electoral Rolls Purification and Authentication Programme (NERPAP). It launched the programme on March 3.

One of the major objectives of NERPAP was to check multiple entries in electoral rolls and to make them error-free. For this purpose, Aadhaar number of electors was collected through various modes throughout the country.

EC received the first hurdle in the form of various objections. People and organisations made various representations and complaints apprehending that a number of deletion of names of voters from the electoral rolls by booth-level officers (BLOs) might take place for not furnishing Aadhaar number.

Secondly, complaints were also made apprehending the misuse of Aadhaar database. Some also asked whether EPIC cards would become redundant after furnishing Aadhaar number.

EC went on the defensive. It was forced to clarify that Aadhaar was not mandatory but only optional. It said no electoral service would be denied to the voters on the ground that they had not submitted their Aadhaar number. It also clarified that non-furnishing of Aadhaar number would not be a ground for rejection of application for new enrolment against an application for new enrolment. Similarly, the name of existing voters would not be deleted from the electoral roll for not furnishing Aadhaar number.

EC explained that Aadhaar number was being collected for authentication of details of the voters. However, it assured of confidentiality and security of data during the process of feeding and seeding.

SUPREME COURT ORDER ON AADHAAR

But a Supreme Court order dated August 11, 2015 put paid to EC's ambitious plan to link Aadhaar to voters' I-card. While delivering judgment in a writ petition [Justice (retd) KS Puttaswamy and another versus Union of India and others), the apex court ordered stopping of the production of Aadhaar card as a condition for obtaining any benefits.

The court said that Aadhaar card would not be used for any purpose other than PDS scheme and for distribution of foodgrains, cooking fuel such as kerosene and LPG cylinder.

In the light of this order, EC suspended the linking of Aadhaar with EPIC with immediate effect.

But by then, EC had already collected and linked the Aadhaar cards of about 31 crore voters.

HOPE REKINDLES

However, the Centre has started filing applications ever since the Aadhaar Act was published in the Gazette on March 25, 2016.

Further, the Supreme Court's order on June 9 permitting the Income Tax department to link PAN with Aadhaar has kindled hope among several departments, including the Election Commission. Once it obtains the permission, it would resume its ambitious project of linking Aadhaar with voters' I cards.

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