CALL OF THE PARLIAMENT AND EC: MADRAS HC ON PLEA SEEKING

INCLUSION OF AADHAR DETAILS IN DEATH CERTIFICATES

EXCERPT:

On Tuesday 13th of July, The Madras High Court, while hearing a plea regarding the
inclusion of Aadhar card details with the death certificates, decided that this matter was
outside the judicial scope. It was a matter more related to the administration, and the
respective authorities must take action.

BRIEF FACTS OF THE CASE:

The petition was filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, requesting the Court
to issue a writ of mandamus directing the Tamil Nadu Government and Chief Electoral
Officer to take necessary steps to ensure the names of deceased persons, as well as double
entries, be removed from the voter's list. The Election Commission had released the final
list of voters for the 16th Legislative Assembly Elections in Tamil Nadu. The petition
requested the Court to check if the list was in accordance with the guidelines released by
the Election Commission of India through a letter issued on the 7th of August, 2020. In
case of any discrepancy, the list should be quashed, and an updated list must be produced
at the earliest.

SUBMISSIONS OF THE PETITIONER:

N.Shyllappa Kalyan, through this petition, brought to the notice of this Court that it is the
duty of the Election commission to ensure that only the names of persons eligible for
voting must find their way into the voter lists. Double entries and names of people
already deceased call for a spurious voter list amounting to confusion in the electoral
process. As a solution to this problem, the petitioner suggested that Aadhar card details
be included with death certificates so as to make it easy for the election commission to
verify the death of any person as confirmed by their relatives. This would help in the
drafting of a voter's list with fewer flaws in it and would make help in the functioning of
the electoral process smoothly.

SUBMISSIONS OF THE RESPONDENT:

Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy observed that the
inclusion of Aadhar details in death certificates might be a good option for the Election
Commission of India to update its electoral list. Also, since the legislative Elections are
over in the State of Tamil Nadu, this petition is no longer relevant.

COURT'S ORDER:

The division bench disposed of the petition as they deemed this matter as ultra vires.
However, the Court stated that the Election Commission would definitely consider the
petitioner's contention regarding this matter. The Election Commission was left free to
decide the most effective procedure pertaining to the updating of voter lists, and no order
relating to costs was issued.

LINK TO THE ORIGINAL JUDGEMENT:

https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis/index.php/casestatus/viewpdf/592115