Why in News?

The Election Commission of India (EC) is set to meet with officials from the Union Home Ministry, Law Ministry, and the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to discuss linking Aadhaar numbers with Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC)/ voter ID cards.

This comes in light of electoral roll irregularities flagged by the Opposition.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• What is the Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC)?
• Background of Aadhaar-Voter ID Linking
• Purpose of Aadhaar-Voter ID Linking
• Opposition’s Concerns and EC’s Response
• Government and EC Stand
• Conclusion

What is the Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC)?

• About: Provided to all registered voters as an identification document, however, it does not confer voting rights unless the voter's name is listed in the electoral roll.
• Issuance of EPIC: Introduced in 1993 and are distributed by state governments, the issuance of EPIC is governed by the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.
• EPIC number:
  • Each EPIC number is a unique 10-digit alphanumeric code composed of: 3 alphabetic characters, and a 7-digit numeric sequence.
  • It serves as a unique identifier linking a voter to their photo, constituency, and polling station.
  • It designed to prevent voter impersonation and electoral fraud and is generated via ERONET (since 2017), which is a web-based platform for automating the electoral roll process in multiple languages and scripts.
• Issues with EPIC numbers: ECI admitted that duplicate EPIC numbers occurred due to manual data entry and decentralized systems before ERONET, and assured that ERONET 2.0 would be updated to eliminate duplicate EPIC numbers.

Background of Aadhaar-Voter ID Linking:

• 2015 Supreme Court (SC) ruling: Aadhaar linking with the Elector’s Photo Identity Card (EPIC) was halted following a SC order stating Aadhaar was not mandatory for availing government benefits.
• 2021 amendment: The Representation of the People Act, 1951 was amended to allow Aadhaar-EPIC linking.
• 2022 collection begins: EC started collecting Aadhaar details voluntarily but has not used them for electoral roll revisions.

Purpose of Aadhaar-Voter ID Linking:

• Eliminating duplicate voter registrations: Aadhaar numbers would help detect multiple registrations and clean electoral rolls.
• Ensuring electoral roll integrity: Aimed at preventing electoral fraud and manipulation.

Opposition’s Concerns and Allegations:

• Allegations of voter list manipulation:
  • Trinamool Congress (TMC): Claims identical EPIC numbers exist in multiple states.
  • LoP in the Lok Sabha: Raised concerns about electoral roll discrepancies in Parliament.
• EC’s Response:
  • Acknowledged errors in EPIC numbering.
  • Assured correction of duplicate EPICs within three months.
  • Stated that having identical EPIC numbers does not necessarily indicate fake voters.

Government and EC Stand:

• Voluntary nature of Aadhaar-EPIC linkage:
  • As per the Law Ministry (2024), Aadhaar submission remains voluntary.
  • Form 6B provides only two options: submitting Aadhaar or declaring non-availability.
• Existing data collection:
  • As of January 2025, India has 99 crore registered voters.
  • 66.23 crore Aadhaar numbers collected as per Supreme Court directives.
• Upcoming de-duplication process:
  • EC to update software to identify and replace duplicate EPIC cards.
  • New EPICs will be issued in non-election states.

Conclusion:

• The EC’s meeting aims to address concerns regarding electoral integrity through Aadhaar-EPIC linkage.
• While the Opposition sees it as a delayed reaction, the EC maintains that the process will enhance the credibility of electoral rolls.
• The outcome of the discussions could impact future electoral processes and reforms.