Mumbai: In a major administrative move, the Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra governments have issued fresh directions clarifying that Aadhaar cards will no longer be treated as proof of birth or date of birth for official purposes. The decision comes amid growing concerns over misuse of Aadhaar-linked documents to generate fake birth and death certificates.
In Uttar Pradesh, the Planning Department has formally instructed all departments to stop accepting Aadhaar as a birth certificate.
Special Secretary Amit Singh Bansal conveyed that Aadhaar does not contain an officially linked birth certificate and therefore “cannot be considered a birth certificate”, directing all departments to comply with the new rule.
Maharashtra has initiated an even stricter approach by cancelling all birth certificates issued solely on the basis of Aadhaar after the Births and Deaths Registration (Amendment) Act, 2023. The state government said this step is necessary to disrupt rackets generating fraudulent certificates.
State Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule ordered a thorough verification drive, including the cancellation of suspicious certificates issued using Aadhaar. He also directed disciplinary action against officials responsible for approving such records.
Under the Revenue Department’s 16-point verification guideline, any birth or death certificates issued through Deputy Tehsildars after August 11, 2023, must now be withdrawn and re-examined by the District Collector.
The government has further instructed that all pending suspended applications must undergo urgent scrutiny. Offices handling civil registrations have been told to cancel applications that do not align with the Public Health Department’s SOP and immediately delete them from the Civil Registration System (CRS) portal.
The new rules emphasise that Aadhaar cannot be used as supporting proof in any matter related to birth or death registration. In cases where inconsistencies are found between an Aadhaar number and details on a birth certificate, authorities have been told to file police complaints.
A statewide alert has also been issued for 14 regions flagged for suspiciously high numbers of unauthorised birth and death entries, including Amravati, Sillod, Akola, Sambhajinagar City, Latur, Anjangaon Surji, Achalpur, Pusad, Parbhani, Beed, Gevrai, Jalna, Ardhapur and Parli. District police and Tehsildars have been instructed to carry out “serious investigations” into all such cases.
