West Bengal polls: Appellate tribunal accepts Aadhaar card in first SIR appeal

KOLKATA: "Motab Shaikh and Motab Herul are the aforesaid person," the appellate tribunal ruled connected April 5 successful its archetypal SIR appeal, accepting the Congress Farakka candidate's Aadhaar card arsenic impervious of individuality aft the Election Commission provided nary crushed for his exclusion.Retired justice TS Sivagnanam, portion adjudicating Motab's appeal, said the tribunal sought the circumstantial reasons recorded by the judicial serviceman for exclusion of Motab's name. The EC, however, failed to supply any, citing "technical reasons".In an earlier proceeding regarding SIR successful West Bengal successful Supreme Court, Justice Joymalya Bagchi pointed retired that the bundle includes a circumstantial file designed to grounds the "reason" for each voter's inclusion oregon exclusion.Justice Bagchi had said: "The architecture of the bundle provides a tract for remarks, wherever the officers acrophobic indispensable supply reasons erstwhile deciding whether a logical discrepancy justifies deletion oregon warrants inclusion."Senior advocator Dama Seshadri Naidu, representing EC, had assured the seat that the full integer grounds would beryllium made disposable to the appellate tribunal.The quality stemmed from discrepancies betwixt Motab's sanction arsenic connected the 2002 voters' database and the archetypal database aft SIR connected Dec 16 past year.

The tribunal examined the full grounds placed earlier the AERO, wherever Motab's Aadhaar paper proved crucial. While Aadhaar is not a papers proving citizenship, it serves arsenic a papers of identity. In fact, pursuing the SC judgement successful the Bihar SIR lawsuit connected Sept 8, 2025, Aadhaar was included by EC arsenic a "supporting" document.Applying that logic to Motab's appeal, the tribunal said his Aadhaar reflects his sanction arsenic Motab Shaikh.

"This would beryllium capable to judge the lawsuit of the appellant," it said.The tribunal besides took enactment of his passport (issued successful 2018) and driving licence (issued successful 2001), some of which identified him arsenic Motab Shaikh, lad of Ejabul Shaikh.The tribunal besides considered the affidavit helium filed for correction aft his sanction was recorded arsenic 'Motab Herul' alternatively of 'Motab Shaikh' pursuing the 2002 SIR.Furthermore, helium produced the commencement certificates of his 4 children; connected the certificate of the eldest, calved successful 1993, his sanction was recorded arsenic 'Motab Shaikh'. Interestingly, each six of Motab's siblings had cleared the SIR process, with their names appearing connected the canvass rolls, portion Motab's was the lone 1 excluded.