Fact check: Amit Malviya misreads SC order on Aadhaar for Bihar voter re-inclusion
Court’s directive clearly allows Aadhaar as standalone document, contrary to BJP IT chief’s claim
New Delhi: A recent statement by BJP's IT department head, Amit Malviya, claiming the Supreme Court did not permit Aadhaar alone as a valid document for voters to re-apply to the electoral roll in Bihar, appears to misinterpret the court's explicit order. A detailed review of the Supreme Court's directive from August 22, 2025, shows that the court listed the Aadhaar card as a distinct and alternative document for submitting requisite forms.
What the BJP claimed?
On Sunday, Malviya accused the Opposition of spreading propaganda regarding the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. He asserted that the Supreme Court "did not say Aadhaar alone can be a valid document to get voting rights" and that it "is only proof of identity and residence, and it does not establish citizenship."
He further claimed that the low number of objections filed, only 84,305 from a list of 65 lakh deleted names, indicated that the removed names were "fake, dead, and Bangladeshi and Rohingya," and that the Opposition's cry of "vote chori" (vote theft) was manufactured.
What does the Supreme Court order actually say?
The Supreme Court bench, comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, issued several directives on August 22, 2025, to address the exclusion of approximately 65 lakh people from the draft electoral roll in Bihar. The court's primary focus was to ensure that every eligible voter has the opportunity to file claims or objections before the September 1, 2025, deadline.
Contrary to Malviya's assertion, the court's order explicitly mentions the Aadhaar card as a valid document. In paragraph 9, the court directs 12 recognized political parties to instruct their Booth Level Agents (BLAs) to assist voters. The crucial text reads: "...to issue specific instructions to their respective BLAs to assist the voters in their village/block/constituency/panchayat area as well as relief camps in submitting the requisite forms along with any of the 11 documents mentioned in SIR Notification or Aadhar Card."
The use of the word "or" grammatically separates "any of the 11 documents mentioned in SIR Notification" from "Aadhar Card," presenting them as two distinct options for the voter. This means a voter can submit the requisite form accompanied by either one of the 11 specified documents or by an Aadhaar Card.
Malviya's claim that the apex court did not say "Aadhaar alone can be a valid document" is directly contradicted by the phrasing of the order. The order creates a clear choice for the voter between two categories of documents to submit with their form. While Malviya interprets the low number of objections (84,305) as a sign of a clean electoral roll, the Supreme Court expressed a different view. The court was surprised that out of 1,60,813 BLAs appointed by political parties, only two objections had been filed. This was noted in the context of submissions from some political parties that their BLAs "are not being permitted to submit the objections".
The court's reaction to the situation was not to endorse the draft roll but to issue proactive directives to prevent disenfranchisement. It ordered:
The 12 recognized political parties in Bihar to be impleaded as respondents in the case.
These parties must issue specific instructions to their BLAs to assist the approximately 65 lakh excluded persons.
Individuals can apply online without needing to submit physical forms.
The Chief Electoral Officer of Bihar to formally notify the state presidents of these 12 parties of their impleadment and require them to be present in court with status reports.
The BJP's claim that the Supreme Court's order does not permit the use of an Aadhaar card alone to accompany voter inclusion forms is a misrepresentation of the court's explicit directive. The order's text clearly presents the Aadhaar card as an alternative to a list of 11 other documents for the purpose of submitting claims. Furthermore, the court's surprise at the low number of objections from party agents and its subsequent orders to all major political parties to actively assist excluded voters suggest deep concern about the process, a nuance entirely absent from Malviya's statement.
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Rupee settles 1 paisa higher to close at 94.15 against US dollar
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee settled with gains of just one paisa to close at 94.15 against the US dollar on Monday, as rising global uncertainty, escalating tensions in West Asia and soaring crude oil prices weighed on investor sentiments.
Forex traders said the INR/USD pair pared its initial losses, but the overall bias remains negative as FII sell-off and elevated crude oil prices restricted the gains for the local unit.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 94.25 against the US dollar, and touched an intraday high of 94.11 and a low of 94.28 against the greenback during the day.
At the end of Monday's trading session, the rupee was quoted at 94.15, registering a gain of just 1 paisa over its previous close.
On Friday, the rupee extended its losing streak for the fifth day in a row, depreciating 15 paise to close at 94.16 against the US dollar.
"The rupee snapped a five-session losing streak, rebounding in tandem with a rally across regional currencies. However, the mood remains apprehensive as the market braces for a potential RBI intervention around 94.30 and higher crude oil prices," said Dilip Parmar – Senior Research Analyst, HDFC Securities.
On the charts, the USDINR pair has reclaimed its upward momentum, carving out a classic bullish structure of higher highs and lows on the daily time frame, he said, adding that for the coming sessions, 93.80 serves as a support, with 94.40 acting as the primary hurdle.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was down 0.21 per cent at 98.32.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 2.36 per cent at USD 107.82 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex jumped 639.42 points to settle at 77,303.63, while the Nifty surged 194.75 points to 24,092.70.
Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth Rs 1,151.48 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, India's forex reserves jumped by USD 2.362 billion to USD 703.308 billion during the week ended April 17, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Friday.
In the previous reporting week, the forex kitty had increased by USD 3.825 billion to USD 700.946 billion.
