Not must to link Aadhaar with voter list

Subject :Polity

Section: Elections

Context: EC tells Supreme Court that it is not necessary to link Aadhaar with voter list.

More about the news:

The Election Commission has told the Supreme Court that it is not mandatory to provide Aadhaar numbers for linking with the electoral roll, and it is considering issuing “appropriate clarificatory changes” in enrolment forms to reflect this.
The EC told the bench of CJI that it is not mandatory under Rule 26-B of the Registration of Electors (Amendment) Rules 2022 to link Aadhaar with voter list.

What is Rule 26-B of the Registration of Electors (Amendment) Rules 2022.

Rule 26B, dealing with “special provision for providing Aadhaar number by existing electors”, states that “every person whose name is listed in the roll may intimate his Aadhaar number to the registration officer in Form 6B in accordance with sub-section (5) of Section 23 of the Act”.

What is National Electoral Roll Purification and Authentication Programme (NERPAP), 2015:

It was the programme of the Election Commission to link Aadhaar and voter IDs, in a bid to delete duplicate names.
Apart from that, the programme also links and authenticates the Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) data of electors with Aadhaar data.

What is Aadhaar:

Aadhaar is a 12-digit unique identification number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to every individual resident of India.
It serves as proof of identity, which is linked to the individual’s biometric and demographic information.
The Aadhaar programme was launched in 2009 by the UIDAI with the goal of providing a unique and verifiable identity for every resident of India.