tl;dr
Is linking your Voter ID with Aadhaar mandatory? Absolutely not, but there’s a caveat! Recent actions by government officials have caused confusion, leading many to fear that they may lose their voting rights if they do not link their Aadhaar to their Voter ID. In this post, we aim to clear up this confusion and present IFF’s statement opposing the integration of Aadhaar with the electoral framework.
ECI wants to link Aadhaar to Electoral Rolls
On March 18, 2025, the Election Commission of India (“ECI”) released a press note announcing a meeting with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (“MEITY”), the Unique Identification Authority of India (“UIDAI”), and ECI technical experts, with technical consultations between UIDAI and ECI experts set to commence soon.
This development comes amid ongoing concerns over the linking of Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) with Aadhaar, a process the ECI claims will be governed by Article 326 of the Indian Constitution, Sections 23(4), 23(5), and 23(6) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and the Supreme Court's ruling in G Nirajan v. Election Commission of India (WP (C) 177/2023).
While the ECI maintains that Aadhaar-EPIC linking is voluntary, its implementation raises serious concerns regarding coercion, voter disenfranchisement, and data privacy. The introduction of Form 6B following the Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021 and the Registration of Electors (Amendment) Rules, 2022 made under them exemplifies these concerns, as it presents a false choice: individuals who decline to provide Aadhaar details must explicitly declare they do not possess an Aadhaar number, potentially forcing citizens to make false statements.
Section 4 of the Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021 inserts three sub-sections to the Representation of the People Act, 1950. As a result of the Amendment, Section 23(4) of the Act permits electoral registration officers to demand Aadhaar numbers to identify voters. Section 23(5) of the Act states that Aadhaar numbers ought to be provided by individuals in a manner prescribed by rules. Section 23(6) states that inclusion in the electoral roll shall not be denied and entries in the electoral roll shall not be deleted for inability to provide an Aadhaar number due to “such sufficient cause as may be prescribed.”
Registration of Electors (Amendment) Rules, 2022 prescribes the “sufficient cause”. Form 6B, introduced by these rules, only permits those who do not already have an Aadhaar to provide an alternate document for verification of their identity. As a result, the Amendments effectively permit the Election Commission to mandate those who have Aadhar Numbers to link them to the electoral rolls despite the fact that previous attempts at Aadhaar-linkage resulted in mass disenfranchisement and an incursion into the fundamental right to privacy. This is reflected in the lack of choice present in Form-6B that forms part of these rules and does not provide any clear field for exempting from Aadhaar updation. Here below field (ii), an alternate ID must be provided only if a person declares, "I don't have Aadhaar number." Hence, there is no option, opt-out or ability for a person not to grant consent if a person does not have an Aadhaar number.
ECI’s failure to comply with voluntary Aadhaar-EPIC Linking
This issue is further underscored by the June 17, 2022 notification from the Ministry of Law and Justice which states that individuals "may intimate" their Aadhaar number, yet Form 6B provides no meaningful opt-out mechanism, creating administrative pressure that effectively transforms this “voluntary” process into a de facto mandatory requirement. Furthermore, the ECI must provide clear and specific information to eliminate any ambiguity regarding the voluntary nature of sharing Aadhaar information, as its press statement on March 18, 2025, did not explicitly clarify this. Read our previously published explainer on how to protect yourself from the coercive linking of Aadhaar with your Voter ID.
This has led to a Supreme Court pronouncement on September 18, 2023, where the ECI undertook to the Supreme Court in G Nirajan v. Election Commission of India (WP (C) 177/2023) that, “the submission of the Adhar number is not mandatory under Rule 26-B of the Registration of Electors (Amendment) Rules 2022 and hence the Election Commission is looking into issuing appropriate clarificatory changes in the forms introduced for that purpose.” To our knowledge such clarificatory changes to the forms have not yet been carried out. However, the Government of India rejected amendments to Form 6B, claiming an ECI-issued clarification was sufficient—an approach that fails to recognize that placing the burden on voters to justify non-disclosure effectively transforms a supposedly voluntary process into a mandatory one. Hence, at present not only is there a lack of any clear legal basis for making Aadhaar linking mandatory to Voter ID’s but on the contrary the underlying law requires it be voluntary and necessary steps to be taken by the Election Commission to reflect it.
We further state that this linking mechanism fundamentally undermines constitutional principles. The right to vote is based on citizenship, to use Aadhaar Numbers, which is not a proof of citizenship, to authenticate the identities of citizens in the electoral rolls. Thus, it is likely that non-citizens may also be placed on the rolls. Even otherwise, the amendments are arbitrary because they assume the Aadhaar Database to be untainted. A number of authorities, including the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, have questioned the sanctity of the Aadhaar Database. Data mismatches between Aadhaar and EPIC databases will lead to arbitrary electoral roll deletions, potentially disenfranchising legitimate voters. Since its inception, the Aadhaar Project has been plagued with instances of mass exclusion, fraud, leakage and biometric failure. Furthermore, the ECI claims over 66 crore individuals have "voluntarily" provided Aadhaar details, yet has not disclosed how this data is being managed or protected, raising serious concerns about consent, potential misuse, and surveillance capabilities.
Statement by IFF
“The Internet Freedom Foundation opposes the linking of Aadhaar linkage to our electoral framework — directly or indirectly — specifically, as a condition for exercising voting rights. This high technocratic vision is inspired from the magical thinking of voting through smartphones rather than the lived realities of the people of India. This poorly thought out fantasy puts at risk the entire electoral process which already is suffering from questions on its credibility. Going by past experience in the domains of welfare entitlements where Aadhaar has been made mandatory or similar exercises at the state level where it has been linked to voter rolls there is a clear and real danger of mass disenfranchisment, data exploitation and the potential for state survelliance. We urge the ECI and the Government of India to be transparent, follow the spirit of the Supreme Court order and adopt a rights-based approach that prioritizes voter participation without technological barriers. It must eliminate all policies that indirectly mandate Aadhaar disclosure, implement a series of steps towards securing the electoral process as have been recommended by a coalition of campaigns including the Association for Democratic Reforms. This include among many other measures including the non-partisian enforcement and oversight on the social media cells of political parties that are using databases for micro-targetted campaigning in breach of campaign financing limits. The integrity of India's democratic process and our claim of the world’s largest democracy is at stake.”
Apar Gupta, Advocate & Founder Director, Internet Freedom Foundation