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The path to implement the system of linking voter ID card (EPIC) with Aadhaar is not easy for the central government. It will have to face a complex legal hurdle, due to which EPIC-Aadhaar linking cannot be implemented compulsorily. In such a situation, a dual system will have to be brought in, first voluntary EPIC-Aadhaar link and in the second, the old method will have to be continued.

The National Election Commission (ECI) has come forward with the method of EPIC-Aadhaar linking for the purification of the electoral roll. On Tuesday, March 18, the ECI has called the Home Secretary, Secretary of the Legislative Department and the CEO of UIDAI to discuss this issue with the Commission. Sources say that there will be an in-depth discussion on all the pros and cons of implementing this system.

Changes will have to be made in the laws.

If the government moves in this direction, it will have to amend the Aadhaar Act, Election Act, Representation of People Act, and Voter List Rules. During this time, the Supreme Court's decision on Aadhaar will also have to be kept in mind, in which the constitutional validity of Aadhaar was upheld. But instead of making it compulsory, the voluntary decision of the citizens was given importance in Aadhaar registration. In such a situation, linking Aadhaar to everything from banking to getting a SIM card is dependent on the voluntary decision of the citizens. However, those citizens who do not want to do this have to face big hassles in the process.

According to legal experts, if the EPCIC-Aadhaar link is included by amending the laws, then there will not be an option of a single system. In such a situation, the voters who get the link done and the commission will get relief from the allegations of duplication, while in the second option, the steps of the process for verification can be increased while maintaining the old method for the voters. The right to vote in the country is not a fundamental right, whereas democracy is a basic feature of the Indian Constitution.

On this aspect too, the Supreme Court has said in Bhim Rao Baswant Rao Patil vs K Madan Mohan Rao and other cases, Jyoti Basu and others vs Debi Ghoshal case of 1982, Kuldeep Nayyar vs Union of India case of 2006 that the right to vote has not been given the status of a fundamental right, whereas democracy is a basic feature of the Indian Constitution. The second aspect is that if this is a fundamental right, then voting will become mandatory even for prisoners in jail.
Many types of classifications will have to be made.

Looking at the legal provisions, the Constitution of India provides that elections to the House of the People and the Legislative Assembly of every State shall be based on adult suffrage, i.e. every person who is a citizen of India and is at least eighteen years of age on such date as may be appointed in that behalf by or under any law made by the appropriate Legislature, and is not otherwise disqualified under this Constitution or any law made by the appropriate Legislature on the ground of non-residence, unsoundness of mind, offense or corrupt or illegal practice, shall be entitled to be registered as a voter at any such election.

The major provisions of the Representation of the People Act (RPA) are

It lays down the procedures for the delimitation of constituencies.

It provides for the allocation of seats in the House of the People and the Legislative Assemblies and Legislative Councils of the States.

It lays down the procedure for the preparation of the voters' list and the manner of filling the seats.

It prescribes the qualifications of voters.

Election Commission's intention

Within about a month of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar taking charge, the Commission has geared up to resolve legacy issues pending for decades. Some important meetings have been held recently.

1. Organizing all-party meetings at the level of EROs, DEOs, and CEOs before March 31, 2025. 2. Obtaining suggestions from all national and state parties within the legal framework by April 30, 2025. 3. Resolving the duplicate EPIC issue pending for about 25 years in the next 3 months. 4. Training field-level political agents including booth-level agents, polling agents, counting agents and election agents about their important role for the first time as per the legal framework. 5. All genuine Indian citizens above the age of 18 should be able to vote. Linking EPIC with Aadhaar is a step in this direction. 6. The CEC had earlier announced in the CEO conference on March 4 that in future elections, there will not be more than 1200 voters at any booth so that voting can be completed before time and there are no long queues. This too has been a pending issue for more than a decade.

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