New Delhi: New Aadhaar cards now come with a more prominent disclaimer that Aadhaar is a proof of identity, not citizenship or date of birth, The Hindu has reported.
The move, according to the report, is a clear signal to government departments and other organisations to not use it as proof of either.
The report cites how the Election Commission of India “explicitly accepts Aadhaar as a proof of date of birth for enrolling people to vote.” The new disclaimer could push such practices to uncertainty.
Earlier in January, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation said it will no longer accept the Aadhaar card as proof of date of birth. This decision was made with the approval of the Central Provident Fund Commissioner.
In 2018, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology had said that Aadhaar is “per se … not a proof of date of birth.”
In 2023, the Bombay high court dismissed a petition by Maharashtra state seeking direction to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to disclose information regarding the Aadhaar card of an accused who submitted two cards with the same number but with different birth dates noting that Aadhaar was not proof of date of birth.