Aadhaar made mandatory for death certificates

The government said the new move will come to effect from Oct 1.

Separate dates of enforcement will be later mentioned for Assam, Meghalaya and J&K.

The Aadhaar number will be required for the purpose of establishing the identity of the deceased for the purpose of Death registration w.e.f 1st October, 2017, read a statement issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

In a notification issued today the Registrar General India (RGI), Ministry of Home Affairs has said the use of Aadhaar for the applicants of Death Certificate will result in ensuring accuracy of the details provided by the relatives/ dependents / acquaintances of the deceased.

"It will provide an effective method to prevent identity fraud. It will also help in recording the identity of the deceased person. Further, it will obviate the need for producing multiple documents to prove the identity of the deceased person," read the statement.

The RGI has further directed concerned Department in the respective State/UT responsible for registration of birth and death to ensure compliance by concerned registration authorities and a confirmation to this effect by on or before 1st September 2017.

"The above provisions shall come into effect immediately for residents of all States except J&K, Assam & Meghalaya for which a date will be notified separately," read the statement.

The RGI, in exercise of powers conferred under Section 3(3) of the Registration of Birth and Death Act, 1969, directed that the Aadhaar number will be required for the purpose of establishing the identity of the deceased for the purpose of Death registration in the following manner:

An Applicant applying for death certificate is required to provide Aadhaar number or Enrolment ID Number (EID) of the deceased and other details as sought in the application for death certificate for the purpose of establishing the identity of the deceased.

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.