Linking Aadhaar to Voter IDs not mandatory: ECI to SC

The Election Commission of India has told the Supreme Court that linking Aadhaar numbers with electoral rolls is not mandatory under the Registration of Electors (Amendment) Rules 2022. The ECI in an affidavit informed the bench, headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, comprising Justices JB Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra that over 66.23 crore Aadhaar numbers have already been uploaded in the process of finalising electoral rolls. The ECI was responding to the petition, which said the forms of the poll body mandated the declaration of Aadhaar number which was against the various judgments of the courts.