New Delhi, Sept. 9 -- The Supreme Court on Monday ordered that Aadhaar must be accepted as the 12th valid document for inclusion in Bihar's electoral rolls as part of the special intensive revision (SIR), intervening after complaints that election officials were refusing to recognise it despite earlier directions. A bench of justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi turned down the Election Commission of India's (ECI) reservations against formally adding Aadhaar to its list of approved identity proofs, stressing that while the document cannot establish citizenship, it remains a valid indicator of identity and residence. "The Aadhaar card shall be treated as the 12th document by the ECI. However, it is open for the authorities to examine the validity and genuineness of the Aadhaar card itself. It is clarified that Aadhaar will not be treated as a proof of citizenship," directed the bench, adding that the poll panel must issue instructions to its field officials "during the course of the day." The direction is significant as it not only mandates the Election Commission of India (ECI) to treat Aadhaar on par with the 11 other notified documents but also requires the poll body to verify its authenticity for establishing a voter's identity and residence. To be sure, the order comes more than two months after the controversial exercise first began, and after the bulk of the field survey and door-to-door processes have been completed. The order followed heated exchanges in court, where senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), accused ECI of deliberately excluding Aadhaar. "What they are doing is shocking.Booth-level officers (BLOs) are being hauled up for accepting Aadhaar. We can show notices being issued by electoral registration officers which say no other document except the 11 notified ones will be accepted. Where is the inclusive exercise if a universal document like Aadhaar is being rejected?" When the bench asked if the petitioners wanted the status of a voter to be determined solely on the basis of Aadhaar, Sibal replied: "I am already there in the electoral roll of 2025. Where is the question of proving anything? BLOs cannot determine my citizenship." The bench then turned to ECI's counsel, senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, who maintained that Aadhaar was already being accepted but "cannot be a proof of citizenship." He argued that the Commission has the constitutional mandate to look into citizenship questions when preparing electoral rolls....