Aadhaar is proof of identity, not family relationship, says UP Registration Department

A day after the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that the Indian passport is a travel document, not a proof of citizenship, the UP Government's Registration Department has stated that an Aadhaar card is merely an identity proof, not a proof of relationship.

Use other documents to verify family ties

The official notification states that Aadhaar is strictly proof of identity and address, not proof of family relationship. It also advised officials to use other documents, like birth certificates or family registers, to verify relationships.

In particular, the notification stated that details like "C/o" or "W/o" on an Aadhaar card should not be treated as legal proof of relationship.

The circular issued by the Inspector General of Registration, Uttar Pradesh, on June 19 to all Assistant Inspectors General of Registration instructed officials not to rely solely on Aadhaar while verifying family relationships in applications, registration work, or other administrative matters.

Aadhaar is proof of identity, not citizenship

It should be noted that the UIDAI has clarified that while the Aadhaar number is a proof of identity, it does not confer any right of citizenship or domicile in respect of an Aadhaar number holder. The Supreme Court has also, in various cases, made clear that the Aadhaar card is valid strictly as a proof of identity and not a proof of citizenship or domicile.

Government clarifies on passport row

Meanwhile, following the controversy over the MEA official’s comment, government sources said on Thursday clarified that a passport has never been a citizenship proof and no new decision was taken on the document by the Modi government in the last 12 years.

According to the Passport Act 1967, passports can be given to non-citizens too, the sources told PTI.

"It was not decided yesterday that the passport is not a proof of citizenship. It was not even decided in the last 12 years. The passport has never been a proof of citizenship," a source said.

Official sources suggested that the judgements of the Bombay High Court in 2013 have made it clear that passport is not a proof of citizenship.

During the hearing on the Election Commission conducted Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, the Supreme Court had observed that Aadhaar was not conclusive proof of citizenship, just a document of identity.

On December 20, 2019, the government of India's Press Information Bureau (PIB) issued a comprehensive explainer via a set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

It said, "Citizenship can be proved by submitting any documents related to date of birth and place of birth. However, a decision is yet to be taken on such acceptable documents".

The PIB also said in the FAQs that citizenship of any person is decided on the basis of The Citizenship Rules, 2009.These rules are based on the Citizenship Act, 1955.

It said five ways for any person to become a citizen of India was citizenship by birth, citizenship by descent, citizenship by registration, citizenship by naturalisation and citizenship by incorporation.