Aadhaar card cannot be proof of age for rape victim --Madhya Pradesh High Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has recently dismissed a petition filed by the accused, saying that Aadhaar card is not a certificate to determine the age of a minor rape victim.Aadhaar card cannot prove the age of a person.                                                        The High Court was hearing a case in which a rape accused had sought the original copy of Aadhaar card of a rape victim to know her age.                                            The accused had earlier sought the original copy of the Aadhaar card regarding the age of the victim by applying in the trial court.The trial court had rejected the application of the accused, thereafter the accused had challenged the dismissal of the application by the trial court in the High Court.The High Court, while dismissing the petition filed by the accused, has upheld the decision of the trial court.                                                                      The court said that the Aadhaar card is not issued by the Government of India, it is issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India, an independent agency authorized by the Government of India.Therefore, Aadhaar card cannot be considered as proof of correct age and cannot be relied upon for determining correct age.                                            A Single Judge Bench of Justice Vivek Aggarwal examines the reliability of Aadhaar card as a document to determine the age of a minor rape victim in view of the Juvenile Justice (care and protection)Act,2012 and the Juvenile Justice (care and protection) Act,2015 and concluded that the Juvenile Justice (care and protection) Act provides for reliance on birth certificate and school leaving certificate to determine the age of a person.If both these documents are not available, the Act provides for bone test to determine the age of a person.There is no provision to accept Aadhaar card as proof of age document for age determination.