AMN / NEW DELHI
Aadhaar number will be now required for the purpose of establishing the identity of the deceased for death registration from 1st October this year.
In a notification, Registrar General of India(RGI) said, the use of Aadhaar for the applicants of Death Certificate will result in ensuring accuracy of the details provided by the relatives and dependents.
It will provide an effective method to prevent identity fraud and also help recording the identity of the deceased person. Besides, it will obviate the need for producing multiple documents to prove the identity of the deceased person.
The RGI has directed concerned departments of States and UTs to ensure compliance of the order and send a confirmation to this effect by 1st of September this year.
The provisions will come into effect immediately for residents of all States except Jammu and Kashmir, Assam and Meghalaya for which a date will be notified separately.
An Applicant who is not aware of the Aadhaar number or EID of the deceased will be required to provide a certificate that the deceased person does not possess Aadhaar number and it should be duly informed and also prescribed that any false declaration given by the applicant in this regard will be treated as an offence.
An Applicant who is not aware of the Aadhaar number or Enrolment ID Number (EID) of the deceased will be required to provide a certificate that the deceased person does not possess Aadhaar number to the best of his/her knowledge and it should be duly informed and also prescribed that any false declaration given by the applicant in this regard will be treated as an offence as per the provisions of the Aadhaar Act, 2016 and also Registration of Birth and Death Act, 1969. Applicant’s Aadhaar number shall also be collected along with the Aadhaar number of the spouse or parents.
The RGI notification follows provisions of the Aadhaar Act and Regulations framed there under that have come into effect from 14th September 2016 and notifications to this effect have been published in the Official Gazette. Section 57 of the Aadhaar Act 2016 permits the use of Aadhaar number for establishing the identity of an individual for any purpose pursuant to any law or any contract to this effect.
The registration of births and deaths are being done under the provisions of Registration of Births and Deaths (RBD) Act, 1969 and the corresponding Rules made thereunder by the State Governments. The office of the RGI is the central authority to coordinate and unify the activities of Chief Registrar of birth and deaths of States/UT’s in respect of registration of births and deaths. The extract/certificate of birth and death are issued by the registering authority notified by the State/UT Governments under section 12 and 17 of the RBD Act, 1969. These are issued on the basis of entries collected through birth and death reporting forms prescribed by the State Government.