NEW DELHI: Close on the heels of making the unique identification number must of filing income tax returns, the Home Ministry has issued a notification on Friday according to which the Aadhaar number will be 'required' for seeking death certificate of a deceased person, from October 1 this year. The move seeks to check identity fraud and obviate the need for furnishing multiple documents for ascertaining the identity of the deceased besides ensuring accuracy of the details of the dead.
The notification issued by the Registrar General India (RGI) under the Home Ministry 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. The provision of Aadhaar numbers will come into effect immediately for residents of all states except Jammu and Kashmir, Assam and Meghalaya for which a separate date will be notified later, the Home Ministry said in a statement.
The RGI has directed the departments responsible for registration of birth and death in the states and UTs to ensure compliance and a confirmation on or before September 1. The RGI has invoked provisions under Section 3(3) of the Registration of Birth and Death Act, 1969, for making the Aadhaar number 'required' for establishing the identity of a deceased for registration of death.
Initially it was widely reported that the Aadhaar has been made mandatory for getting death certificate . The government later issued a clarification saying that Aadhaar is only 'required' for getting the certificate and is not mandatory. However, the move has received flak with people questioning the ambiguity of the notification.
An applicant seeking death certificate will be required to provide Aadhaar number or Enrolment ID Number (EID) of the deceased and other details as sought in the application. 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 did not possess an Aadhaar number.
(with inputs from Online desk)