UIDAI Seeks Data from Election Commission to Purge Dead Users from Aadhaar
In a major move to sanitize India’s digital identity infrastructure, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has approached the Election Commission of India (ECI) to request access to its registry of deceased voters.
The request follows the ECI’s massive Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which has identified millions of dead voters across the country. UIDAI aims to use this data to deactivate the Aadhaar numbers of deceased individuals, preventing potential identity fraud and ensuring the database remains current.
The Scale of Deletion
The Election Commission’s recent audit has revealed a significant number of deceased individuals still present on official rolls:
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Bihar: Approximately 22 lakh dead voters identified during the first phase of SIR.
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West Bengal: Around 24 lakh names removed from electoral rolls.
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Total Aadhaar Deactivations: In November 2025 alone, UIDAI deactivated over 2 crore Aadhaar numbers using data from state governments and the Registrar General of India.
The Conflict: Data Sharing vs. Autonomy
While the UIDAI is eager to synchronize databases, the Election Commission has expressed reservations. Sources indicate that no final decision has been made for the following reasons:
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Statutory Independence: As an independent statutory body, the EC is hesitant to share its internal data with external government organizations.
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Data Integrity: Senior officials state that SIR data belongs exclusively to the Commission to maintain the integrity of the electoral process.
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Comparison of Datasets: Interestingly, the EC’s data on deceased persons currently appears higher than that of the Registrar General of India, a discrepancy that may only be fully resolved after the 2027 Census.
How the Cleanup Works
The process of removing deceased individuals from the Aadhaar system is an ongoing effort that utilizes multiple data streams.
| Source Organization | Purpose of Data |
| Registrar General of India | Official death certificate records. |
| Public Distribution System (PDS) | Identification of inactive ration card holders. |
| National Social Assistance Programme | Verification of pension beneficiaries. |
| Financial Institutions | (Proposed) Banking data on account closures due to death. |
Key Policy Reminders
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No Reassignment: UIDAI has reiterated that an Aadhaar number belongs to one person for life; it is never reassigned to another individual after the original holder passes away.
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Gaps in Enrolment: In West Bengal, while 34 lakh Aadhaar holders were marked as dead, audits also found that approximately 13 lakh residents have never enrolled for an Aadhaar card.
The ECI expects that once the nationwide SIR process is completed, it will provide the most comprehensive dataset available, potentially serving as a definitive “clean-up” tool for multiple government databases—provided the hurdles to data sharing can be cleared.
