One of my clients recently had a case which I am explaining below and if you are stuck in such similar situation, here is what to do.
Note: Due to attorney-client privilege, I cannot disclose complete case details or identify the actual parties involved. However, I am sharing the essential facts and legal approach so that if you find yourself in a similar situation, you can understand the available solutions and legal remedies.
TL;DR: Two Aadhaar cards with different numbers for one person should never exist, but they do get generated when an enrolment that was rejected is later processed anyway. You do not need to panic and you do not need to surrender both. Keep the number tied to the successful enrolment, raise a written grievance with UIDAI to cancel the other, and if UIDAI sits on it, a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution is the route.
In early 2025, a Pune resident's first Aadhaar enrolment came back rejected. The reason recorded at the centre was technical: the QR code on his supporting document had not come through properly. Since the fix was simple, he went back to the same enrolment centre near Kothrud and filed a fresh enrolment request. That one went through. The Aadhaar card that arrived carried the photograph from the second enrolment, and he began using it for bank KYC and for a subsidy transfer.
About a week later, a second card arrived. Different twelve-digit number. It was linked to the first enrolment ID, the one that had supposedly failed, and the photograph on it matched the first enrolment.
Two valid Aadhaar numbers, one person. He wrote to UIDAI. The reply, in substance, was that this cannot happen. Which is true in theory and not much use when both cards are sitting on your table.
He then approached the Chamber of Advocate Sudhir Rao. The office put together a written grievance identifying both enrolment IDs, both Aadhaar numbers and the sequence of events, and pressed UIDAI's regional office to close the failed enrolment and take the linked number out of circulation. Advocate Sudhir Rao's experience with UIDAI's enrolment and grievance process helped get the duplicate number withdrawn and the active Aadhaar retained, without the client losing access to the benefits already linked to it.
Key Facts of the Case
- The first enrolment was rejected for a technical defect, with the QR code on the supporting document not visible.
- A second enrolment was filed at the same centre and was approved; the Aadhaar issued carried that enrolment's photograph.
- About a week later, a separate Aadhaar letter arrived bearing a different 12-digit number, linked to the first (failed) enrolment ID.
- Both cards were live and usable, and the photograph on the second card matched the first enrolment.
- UIDAI's stated position was that two Aadhaar numbers cannot be issued to one individual.
- Under the Aadhaar Act, 2016 the Aadhaar number is unique to the individual, so the failed enrolment should have been closed rather than issued.
- The practical route taken was a written grievance to UIDAI, followed by escalation, with a writ petition held in reserve.
The Direct Legal Answer
Can one person legally hold two Aadhaar numbers?
No. The Aadhaar number is meant to be unique to the individual, and the issuing authority's own de-duplication process is designed to prevent exactly this. When two numbers survive, it is an administrative or technical failure, not a legal entitlement. You cannot rely on the second number, and you cannot simply pick whichever one you find convenient.
Which of the two numbers should I keep?
Generally, the one tied to the successful enrolment, which is the one already linked to your bank, PAN or benefit transfer. That is the number your records follow. The other one, generated from the failed enrolment, should be cancelled.
Will the duplicate cause problems later?
Yes, and quietly. Authentication failures at a bank counter, a subsidy credited to a number you have never used, KYC rejection, and mismatched records across departments are the usual symptoms. Getting it corrected early is far cheaper than untangling it after a loan application is refused.
Is UIDAI right that it is impossible?
In principle, yes. In practice, rejected enrolments have been known to get processed later, particularly where the rejection was for a document defect rather than a biometric one. The grievance has to be framed around the enrolment IDs, not around the general proposition.
Advice in Such Cases
Consult with Lawyer: The very basic and important step to start is talk to Lawyer / advocate. You should not hesitate in paying his consultation fee i.e. might be in range of Rs. 10,000 to 50,000 depends case to case. He is helping you in this situation to come out. He is expert in the domain and can help you explain the procedure which you might have never explored. A good lawyer can get the issues resolved much faster than you think.
Put everything in writing from the first day. Verbal complaints at a counter leave no record, and the record is what a court will read. Send the grievance by email and, where possible, also through the UIDAI grievance portal, and keep the acknowledgement.
Do not surrender both numbers or file a fresh enrolment while the duplicate exists. That creates a third enrolment ID and makes the mess worse.
These matters turn on procedural and documentary detail, and advocates who regularly handle Aadhaar and identity-record disputes tend to move faster than a general practitioner who is reading the enrolment rules for the first time.
Applicable Sections of Law
Four provisions do most of the work in a case like this.
- Section 3, Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016, which governs enrolment and issuance of the Aadhaar number.
- Section 4, Aadhaar Act, 2016, which deals with the properties of the Aadhaar number, including its uniqueness to the individual. The entire dispute rests on this.
- Section 8, Aadhaar Act, 2016, on authentication, which is where a duplicate number starts causing failures.
- Article 226 of the Constitution,
- Article 226 of the Constitution, which lets a High Court direct a statutory authority to act when it has failed to act.
Two more instruments sit behind those provisions. The Aadhaar (Enrolment and Update) Regulations, 2016 govern how an enrolment is filed, how a rejected enrolment is to be closed, and how corrections are carried out. The Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Act, 2019 amended the parent Act. Read together, the scheme is straightforward: one person, one number, and a de-duplication check that is supposed to catch a second enrolment before a second number is generated.
Where the law is less settled is the remedy. The Aadhaar Act does not spell out a self-service route for cancelling a duplicate. UIDAI does it internally, which means the outcome depends on someone at UIDAI actually opening your file.
Got two Aadhaar cards? Here is the order of steps
Do these in sequence. Skipping a step is what turns a two-month correction into a two-year one.
- Collect both Aadhaar letters and both enrolment slips. Note the 12-digit Aadhaar number and the 28-digit Enrolment ID (EID) on each, along with the date and centre of each enrolment. If you only have the acknowledgement slip from the failed enrolment, that is enough — the EID is on it.
- Find out which number is actually in use. Bank KYC, PAN, SIM, LPG connection, scholarship or subsidy transfer. Write the list down. This decides which number you keep.
- File the grievance in writing, twice over. Once through UIDAI's online grievance portal and once by email to the regional office, with scanned copies of both letters attached. Verbal complaints at an enrolment counter leave no record.
- Say exactly what you want. Not "please fix my Aadhaar". The request is: close enrolment ID [number], cancel the Aadhaar number issued against it, and retain the number from the successful enrolment. Name both IDs.
- Keep the acknowledgement number and the date. Follow up in writing every fortnight or month, quoting that number. Ask for a reply in writing each time.
- Escalate if the first reply is silence. The regional office, then the grievance redressal officer, then the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
- Court is the last step, not the first. A writ petition under Article 226 before the High Court having jurisdiction is available, but a court will want to see that you gave the authority a real chance to act.
Documents to keep ready
- Both Aadhaar letters, original.
- Enrolment slips or acknowledgement receipts showing both EIDs.
- The ID and address proof you submitted.
- Any SMS, email or slip recording that the first enrolment was rejected.
- Bank passbook, PAN or benefit record showing which number is live.
- Copy of the grievance filed, with the acknowledgement.
None of that is difficult to assemble. It is just tedious, and the tedium is why most people give up halfway and live with the duplicate.
How long does it take
There is no fixed statutory clock on UIDAI for closing an enrolment. In practice a portal grievance is acknowledged within days and answered over weeks; a properly documented escalation tends to move faster than a fresh complaint because it is already with a named officer. If it goes to a High Court, add months, not weeks. Anyone promising you a firm date is guessing.
What not to do
- Do not file a third enrolment. It creates a third EID and a third set of problems.
- Do not surrender both numbers to be safe. You will lose the benefits already linked to the working one, and rebuilding that trail is worse than the duplicate.
- Do not keep using the second number for anything new. A fresh loan or SIM linked to it will surface the mismatch years later, at the worst possible moment.
- Do not send original documents anywhere by post.
When it is more than an administrative error
One possibility worth checking early: whether the second enrolment was actually made by you. If the photograph on the duplicate is not yours, or the enrolment was done at a centre you never visited, this stops being a correction and becomes a case of impersonation using your documents. That changes the approach — a written complaint to UIDAI, a police complaint, and a request to freeze the number, in roughly that order. We only have one side of the story in most of these matters, and the enrolment centre's own record is what settles it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I just keep both Aadhaar numbers since both work?
No. The number is meant to be unique to you, and a second one is an error in the record, not a second identity you are entitled to. Using both across different services is how authentication failures start, usually at a bank counter when you least want one.
Will cancelling one number affect my bank account or subsidy?
It should not, if you keep the number that is already linked to those records and cancel the other. Before you file anything, confirm in writing with your bank which number sits on your KYC file. That one line of confirmation prevents most of the fallout.
How do I know which number is the "real" one?
The one issued against the enrolment that was approved. The photograph and the enrolment date on the letter usually make it obvious. If both letters look identical in every way, the enrolment IDs are what distinguish them.
Does UIDAI charge for this?
Filing a grievance does not carry a fee. There is a prescribed charge for updates and corrections at an enrolment centre, but cancellation of an enrolment that should never have produced a number is not a service you are buying. Treat any demand for money to "fix" a duplicate with suspicion.
What if UIDAI simply does not reply?
Keep the proof of every follow-up. Silence from a statutory authority, documented over a reasonable period, is itself the ground for a writ petition under Article 226. Courts do not usually direct an outcome; they direct the authority to decide.
Should I file an FIR?
Only if there is a reason to believe someone else used your identity — a photograph that is not yours, a centre you never attended, a benefit you never claimed. For a plain technical duplicate created by the system, an FIR adds nothing and slows the correction down.
Can I surrender an Aadhaar number myself?
There is no self-service surrender for a duplicate. UIDAI has to cancel it from its side. That is why the grievance has to be specific about which ID to close.
Disclaimer: This article is general information about Indian law and is not legal advice on your own situation. Aadhaar records differ from case to case, and the right step depends on what your enrollment slips and letters actually say.
If you are holding two Aadhaar cards, send the chamber a two-line note with the date of each enrolment and the enrolment IDs from both slips. Attach photographs or scans of both Aadhaar letters and any rejection message you received. That is generally enough to tell whether this is a clerical correction or something that needs a writ petition, and it saves a round of back-and-forth. You can write through /contact-us or fix a time at /book. If on these facts there is nothing to argue — say, an enrolment you never filed and a number already deactivated — we will tell you that instead of opening a file.
Advocate Sudhir Rao, Lawyers' Chamber, Chamber No. 86, Supreme Court of India, New Delhi - 110001. Phone +91 97295 06771. Email me@sudhirrao.com.
Advocate Sudhir Rao, Supreme Court of India