In a statement on Tuesday, the poll authority said that while voting rights could only be granted to a citizen of India, according to Article 326 of the Constitution, Aadhaar established a person’s identity.”Therefore, it was decided that the linking of elector photo identity card (EPIC) with Aadhaar will be done only as per the provisions of Article 326 of the Constitution, sections 23(4), 23(5) and 23(6) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and in line with the Supreme Court judgment (of 2023),” it said.Accordingly, technical consultations between UIDAI and the EC’s technical experts “are to begin soon”, it added.The law allows voluntary seeding of voter rolls with the Aadhaar database.Section 23 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, as amended by the Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021, provides for electoral registration officers to require an existing or prospective elector to provide Aadhaar for establishing identity on a voluntary basis.
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