"Supreme Court Rules Aadhaar Card Invalid as Proof of Date of Birth"

The Supreme Court today set aside a High Court's decision that had relied on the Aadhaar Card to determine the age of a deceased victim. The bench, consisting of Justices Sanjay Karol and Ujjal Bhuyan, ruled that the Aadhaar Card is not suitable for proving age, emphasizing that the more authoritative document for such matters is the school leaving certificate, as per Section 94 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. The case stemmed from a challenge brought by the legal representatives of the deceased, arguing that the High Court erred in using the Aadhaar Card to calculate the victim's age. They contended that the age mentioned in the school leaving certificate was more accurate, leading to a different compensation calculation. In the judgment, Justice Karol referred to various High Court decisions, all of which questioned the validity of the Aadhaar Card for determining age. Some of the decisions discussed are as follows: “In Manoj Kumar Yadav v. State of M.P, the MP High Court held that when it comes to establishing the age, on a plea of juvenility the age mentioned in the Aadhar Card could not be taken as a conclusive proof in view of Section 94 of the JJ Act. In Navdeep Singh & Anr. v. State of Punjab & Ors, the Punjab & Haryana High Court held that Aadhar Cards were not “firm proof of age”. In State of Maharashtra v. Unique Identification Authority of India And Ors., the Bombay High Court took reference to the UIDAI Circular no. 08 of 2023 stating that an Aadhar Card, while can be used to establish identity, it is not per se proof of date of birth. In Gopalbhai Naranbhai Vaghela v. Union Of India & Anr., the Gujarat High Court directed the release of the petitioner's pension in accordance with the date as mentioned in the School Leaving Certificate, keeping aside the difference in the date of birth as mentioned in the Aadhar Card, which was not relevant for the purpose of such consideration. In Shabana v. NCT of Delhi, the Delhi High Court recorded the UIDAI's statement that an “Aadhar Card may not be used as proof of date of birth.” The Court also noted the Unique Identification Authority of India, by way of its Circular No.08 of 2023, has stated, that an Aadhar Card, while can be used to establish identity, it is not per se proof of date of birth. In essence, the bench was not convinced of the suitability of the Aadhar Card as proof of age. “That being the position, as it stands with respect to the determination of age, we have no hesitation in accepting the contention of the claimant-appellants, based on the School Leaving Certificate. Thus, we find no error in the learned MACT's determination of age based on the School Leaving Certificate.”, the court observed. Applying a multiplier of 14 and keeping future prospects to be 25% instead of 30% as fixed by MACT, the Court upon applying the law laid down in the National Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Pranay Sethi (2017) judgment directed the respondents to pay Rs.15,00,000/- as compensation to the Appellant. “The appeals are allowed, the total amount, i.e., Rs.14,41,500, in the interest of just compensation is rounded off to Rs.15,00,000/- with 8% interest from the date of filing of the claim petition to be released to the rightful claimants in the manner directed by the Tribunal.”, the court held. Case: SAROJ & ORS. VERSUS IFFCO-TOKIO GENERAL INSURANCE CO. & ORS., C.A. No. 012077 - 012078 / 2024 www.legalmeet.in