Madras HC refuses to entertain plea to include Aadhaar in death certificates

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Read Order: N.Shyllappa Kalyan v. The Chief Election Commissioner And Ors  

LE Staff

Chennai, July 14, 2021: The Madras High Court has declined to entertain a suggestion to include Aadhaar details in death certificates, in order to assist the Election Commission in removal of names of deceased voters from electoral rolls. 

A Division Bench of Chief Justice Sanjeeb Mukherjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy observed that it is for Parliament and the Election Commission to decide whether such measures are required to ensure purity and sanctity of the electoral roll. 

Highlighting that electoral rolls contains the names of many deceased voters, the petition suggested that the Aadhaar details of the deceased should be entered in every death certificate so that even the Election Commission may verify the status of any person who is claimed by relatives or others to have died.

“There is no doubt that the petitioner’s suggestions will be considered by the Election Commission in trying to ensure that only such persons who are alive and are entitled to vote find their names in the electoral rolls and the others do not,” said the Bench. 

The High Court, however, dismissed the petition, leaving the Election Commission free to choose the best procedure for maintaining the purity of the electoral rolls.

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