NEW DELHI: Starting October 1, Aadhaar number will be required to establish identity of a deceased person for registration of his/her death. Notifying the new rule, the Registrar General of India (RGI) on Friday said it would effectively prevent identity-fraud.

Of course, where the applicant is not aware of the Aadhaar No. or enrolment ID No. of the deceased, he shall have to declare that the latter did not possess Aadhaar number to the best of his knowledge. Any false declaration to this effect will be treated an offence under the Aadhaar Act, 2016 and Registration of Birth and Death Act, 1967. A reading of the Aadhaar Act indicates that the penalty for the said offence may be imprisonment up to one year and/or fine up to Rs 25,000.

The RGI notification justified the need to furnish Aadhaar number of the deceased for purposes of obtaining a death certificate, on the ground that it would ensure accuracy of the details of the deceased provided by relatives/ dependents/acquaintances. “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,” said RGI.

RGI has directed the concerned departments in the respective States/UTs responsible for registration of birth and death, to ensure compliance by the concerned registration authorities and a confirmation to this effect by September 1, 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.

One applying for death certificate would be required to provide Aadhaar number or Enrolment ID Number (EID) of the deceased and other requested details. However, an exception has been made for applicants who are not aware of the aadhaar number or enrolment ID of the deceased. They will have to make a declaration that the deceased did not possess an Aadhaar to the best of their knowledge.

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 effective since September 14 2016 and publication of notifications to this effect 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.

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