Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Manipur, and nine other States recorded surplus revenues in 2024-25, while the remaining 15 States had a deficit.
The plea has sought directions to the Centre, States and the Election Commission of India to ensure that Aadhaar is used as a proof of identity and not as a proof of citizenship, domicile, address and date of birth. File
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The Supreme Court on Tuesday (June 16, 2026) sought responses from the Centre and States on a plea alleging misuse of
Aadhaar cards issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) as proof of citizenship, domicile and residence. The petition claimed that “infiltrators and illegal immigrants” are able to obtain Aadhaar cards and project themselves as “lawful residents”, thereby availing benefits to which they are not legally entitled.A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice V. Mohana issued notice on the plea filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay and directed that it be tagged with similar pending petitions.The petition contended that the continued use of Aadhaar for purposes beyond identity verification is contrary to Section 9 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016, which expressly states that Aadhaar is not proof of citizenship or domicile. It also relied on a UIDAI notification issued in August 2023 clarifying that Aadhaar serves only as proof of identity and cannot be treated as proof of citizenship, residence or date of birth.The plea also questioned the use of Aadhaar as proof of date of birth and residence in Form-6, the application form for fresh voter registration. Mr. Upadhyay argued that allowing Aadhaar to be used for this purpose could undermine the integrity of the electoral process.“...Aadhaar is not only being used as proof of age, citizenship & domicile for school admission, property purchase, and to obtain birth certificate, ration card, driving licence, but also being used in the application form for new voter registration (Form-6) as proof of date of birth & proof of residence. And thus, infiltrators & illegal immigrants are obtaining various documents using the Aadhaar,” the plea stated.‘Illegal migrants’Referring to what he described as the presence of a “huge number of illegal migrants” occupying “vast tracts of land, particularly along sensitive international borders”, Mr. Upadhyay contended that the ease with which such persons can obtain Aadhaar cards enables them to secure other identity documents and eventually seek inclusion in electoral rolls.“Infiltration is a weapon of political parties to subvert the electoral process for their benefit. Bengal, Assam and other Northeastern States have been afflicted by cheap political tactics. The infiltrators are helped by either the party in power or the Opposition parties, and are also helped with identity documents such as Aadhaar/ration card. Once they have a plethora of documents, they enrol themselves in the voting list and become eligible as Indian voters. Thus, the sacrosanct nature of the election process is compromised,” the plea stated.Accordingly, the petition sought a complete overhaul of the verification framework used in electoral processes and proposed the establishment of a high-powered monitoring committee comprising a retired Supreme Court judge along with cybersecurity and forensic experts to oversee reforms.It also prayed for a direction “to declare that the use of Aadhaar as proof of date of birth and residence in the application form for new voter registration” is contrary to statutory provisions and therefore liable to be declared “void and inoperative”. Published - June 16, 2026 12:19 pm IST
Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Manipur, and nine other States recorded surplus revenues in 2024-25, while the remaining 15 States had a deficit.Eighteen States targeted revenue surplus, three States targeted revenue deficit, and seven targeted zero revenue deficit in FY 2024-25, according to a report on 'State Finances 2024-25' released by Comptroller and Auditor General of India K Sanjay Murthy on Tuesday (June 16, 2026)."In FY 2024-25, 15 States were revenue-deficient while the rest 13 States were revenue surplus," the report said.Of the 18 States that targeted revenue surplus, nine achieved the target, while Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Mizoram, and Telangana ended up being revenue deficit in 2024-25.Seven states -Goa, Jharkhand, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, and Uttar Pradesh- targeted a zero-revenue deficit.Among them, four States -Goa, Jharkhand, Tripura, and Uttar Pradesh - achieved a revenue surplus, whereas Punjab, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu ended the year with a revenue deficit.Of the 15 States that were revenue-deficient in 2024-25, Himachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Punjab and West Bengal received Finance Commission revenue deficit grants.The report further said that if the indicative fiscal deficit target of three per cent of the GSDP, fixed by the Fifteenth Finance Commission for 2024-25, for States' fiscal consolidation path is considered, then 18 states were above the target.The aggregate revenue deficit of 15 revenue-deficit states, without netting revenue surplus of 13 States, stood at ₹3,46,385 crore, which was 1.5% of their combined GSDP. The net revenue deficit, after adjusting the revenue surplus in 13 States, stood at ₹2,19,041 crore, 0.68% of the combined GSDP of all 28 States."I hope that the publication on State Finances 2024-25 will serve as a useful evidence-based resource for governments, researchers, policymakers and citizens, enabling a deeper understanding of state finances and supporting informed fiscal decision-making," CAG Murthy said.The publication highlights the growing importance of States' own tax revenues, which accounted for 50% of the combined total revenue receipts of ₹40.52 lakh crore across the 28 States in 2024-25.State GST constituted more than 43% of the combined States' own tax revenues.The States which witnessed a substantial increase in fiscal deficit in 2024-25 as compared to 2023-24 were Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Tripura and Uttarakhand.
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