Aadhaar Is Not Mandatory For Birth/Death Certificates
Visakhapatnam-based advocate M.V.S. Anil Kumar Rajagiri filed an RTI with Govt of India, seeking clarification on the usage of Aadhaar as a mandatory requirement for issuing birth and death certificates.
In the response, Registrar General of India (RGI) has confirmed that no, Aadhaar is not mandatory.
An April, 2019 circular was referred, which states, “the requirement of Aadhaar number is not mandatory for the registration of birth and death.”
RGI informed that Registration of Births and Deaths (RBD) Act, 1969 determines the rules and regulations pertaining to birth and death certifications.
Supreme Court Order On Aadhaar For Birth And Death Certificates
After a Supreme Court order on the usage of Aadhaar was issued in 2018, RGI had observed: “the portion of Section 57 of the Aadhaar Act which enables body corporate and individual to seek authentication was held to be unconstitutional”
This clearly means that although Aadhaar is used as an identity proof, it cannot be used as a means to prove an individual’s authentication, as per the Indian Constitution.
Supreme Court has already stopped telecom operators, banks and other businesses to mandate the usage of Aadhaar as identity proof, and they are forbidden from storing any Aadhaar related data.
However, just PAN card or Voter ID or Passport, Aadhaar too can be used as an identity proof for an Indian.
