Aadhaar card is not proof of age, only identity, reiterates Madhya Pradesh high court

The order was passed by a bench of justice GS Ahluwalia on November 8 on a petition by a widow, who wanted her husband’s age recorded in the Aadhaar card to be considered for the grant of compensation for his death due to electrocution.

The petition said she had applied for financial assistance under Jan Kalyan (Sambal) Yojana, 2018 but her application was rejected as her husband’s age was more than 64 years according to the documents including the Voter ID, ration card and others. Sunita Bai Sahu, a resident of Singhpur panchayat of Narsinghpur district would have, however, qualified for compensation if his age on the Aadhaar card was considered.

Sahu cited a verdict by a coordinate bench of the court which ordered the state to consider the age according to Aadhaar and sought similar directions.

Justice Ahluwalia, however, noted that the Supreme Court on Oct 24, 2024 has already held that the Aadhaar card was not a document of age. “While passing such order, several different orders passed by different High Courts as well as circulars issued by the Department clarifying that the Aadhar Card is not the proof of age of Aadhar Card holder have been taken into consideration,” the bench said.

On the point that the state government’s scheme allowed the use of Aadhaar for this purpose, the order said: “It was fairly conceded that the scheme, which is an executive instruction cannot prevail over the judgments passed by the Supreme Court as well as the High Court”.

“UIDAI has clarified in the circular issued in August 2023 that Aadhaar card can be used to establish identity and it is not a proof of date of birth. Various High Courts including Madhya Pradesh High Court have held that Aadhaar card is not a document of age,” the court said, ordering the chief secretary to inform all authorities concerned that an Aadhaar Card was not a document of age but merely a document of identity