Assam Cabinet halts Aadhaar issuance for those above 18 years

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday said the Cabinet has decided that Aadhaar cards would not be issued to those aged over 18 years to ensure illegal immigrants don’t acquire the document.

In exceptional cases, the District Commissioner will have to send a proposal to the state Government seeking permission for issuing the card, he said at a press conference here after chairing a cabinet meeting. The Government will then decide whether the applicant is eligible for the card, the Chief Minister said.

Remarking that Aadhaar card issuance has reached a saturation point in the State, Sarma said, “In some districts, it has crossed the 100 per cent mark, and we must ascertain who these people are who are taking the additional Aadhaar cards.” The step is being taken to ensure that no illegal Bangladeshis get Aadhaar cards, he said.

Aadhaar cards will, however, continue to be issued to people from the Tea Tribe community, the Scheduled Tribes, the Scheduled Castes and the differently abled, as many are yet to receive the cards. “The ban will, however, be absolute from April 1, 2027, and people from these communities above the age of 18 will also stop receiving it from that date,” the Chief Minister said.

Aadhaar cards, however, will continue to be issued to those below the age of 18.

Sarma had earlier said the State Government would be “very strict” in issuing Aadhaar cards, and it would not be easy to get the document in Assam. Last year, he had said the Assam Government was mulling stricter rules for the issuance of Aadhaar cards for adults as part of its efforts to curb illegal immigration from Bangladesh.

The Supreme Court had said in a ruling on May 4 that the issuance of new Aadhaar cards only to citizens up to the age of six years require legislative intervention and appropriate amendments in the existing legal framework.

A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi gave the ruling after hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking direction to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to issue new Aadhaar cards only to citizens up to the age of six years.

The bench said the appropriate recourse for the petitioner would be to bring all these issues to the notice of the state and other stakeholders to enable them to take cognisance of them.

In Assam, the biometrics of over 9 lakh people for issuing Aadhaar card were locked during the updating of the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

A petition was filed by then TMC MP Sushmita Dev for unlocking of the biometrics in 2022 and in September 2024, the Centre had unlocked the biometrics of these people so that they could get their Aadhaar cards.

The chief minister had then said the Centre had instructed the UIDAI to issue the cards as it has been established that there is “no correlation between inclusion of name in NRC and Aadhaar registration”.

Sarma said the budget session of the Assam Assembly will be convened on July 6, and the exact date for the budget presentation will be announced soon.