Jabalpur: The Madhya Pradesh High Court, in a landmark order on November 8 said that the Aadhaar card is only a document of identity and not age. High Court Justice GS Ahluwalia of the Jabalpur HC ordered the state government to inform all government officials and district collectors about this and send a copy of the order to the Chief Secretary as well.
The petition was filed by a widow, who wanted her husband’s age recorded on the Aadhaar card to claim compensation for his death which took place due to electrocution. Sunita Bai Sahu, a resident of Singhpur Panchayat of Narsinghpur district, said that after her husband Mohan Lal Sahu's death, she applied for financial assistance under the Jan Kalyan (Sambal) Yojana, 2018.
However, her application was rejected as her husband's age was more than 64 years, as per multiple documents including the Voter ID, ration card and others. During the hearing, the single bench found that the Janpad Panchayat Babai Chichli, the rural local body in the Narsinghpur Zila Parishad, had found multiple documents showing the age of the deceased to be more than 64 years.
It is to be noted that on the Aadhaar Card, the man's age was less than 64 years, qualifying her for compensation. However, the bench observed while passing the order that several different orders passed by different High Courts as well as circulars issued by the Department stated Aadhaar Card is not proof of the age of its holder.
Dismissing the petition, the single bench in its order said the Unique Identification Authority of India had clarified in the circular issued in August 2023 that Aadhaar cards can be used to establish identity and are not proof of one's date of birth. “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,” the bench said.
The provision of Mukhyamantri Jan Kalyan (Sambal) Yojana, 2018 states that the age of the deceased worker will be considered based on the date of birth mentioned in the Aadhaar card, the judge said. "However, this is contrary to the basic purpose of the Aadhaar card, and thus cannot be approved. Aadhaar card is a document of identity (biometric, iris)," the bench said.
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