UP, Maharashtra won’t take Aadhaar card as proof of birth

The governments of Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra on Friday issued orders explicitly barring Aadhaar cards as a standalone proof of date and place of birth, indicating that all Aadhaar-based birth certificates will be cancelled.

Both BJP-ruled states said the move was in consonance with the Union government instructions that Aadhaar was not a proof of citizenship or birth date. New Aadhaar cards even include a disclaimer saying “they are a proof of identity and not of citizenship or date of birth”.

An order issued today by UP Planning Department Special Secretary Amit Bansal said Aadhaar cards would no longer be accepted as a proof of date of birth.

“It has come to notice that many departments are accepting Aadhaar cards as proof of date of birth. Departments are advised to discontinue this practice,” the UP Planning Department said.

The Maharashtra Revenue Department in a detailed 16-point order mentioned the government intent to launch a campaign against fake birth and death certificates following evidence of large-scale fraud.

Deputy Secretary of the Maharashtra Revenue Department Mahesh Varudkar issued the orders that came after a November 11 meeting which Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule chaired with additional chief secretaries of home and revenue departments.

Bawankule said forged certificates were being misused to encroach land, threaten security of the country and usurp resources.

“All orders issued by nayab tehsildars after the August 11, 2023, amendment to the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 (which spoke of collection of Aadhaar numbers of parents and informants for birth registration to create a unified national database) must be withdrawn and verified at collector level,” Maharashtra orders said.

The orders added that all certificates based solely on Aadhaar must be marked defective and cancelled forthwith.

Corresponding entries on the civil registration system portal must be deleted, the state government said, adding that all applications for birth and death registrations should be matched with the submitted Aadhaar date of birth and any discrepancy would invite registration of an FIR against the applicant.

The state has also asked its officials to draft lists of applicants whose certificates were issued only on the basis of Aadhaar and whose birth date on Aadhaar differs from the birth date mentioned in the original application.

Officials have been asked to register FIRs where forgery has been proved.

Uttar Pradesh’s move came barely a week after UP CM Yogi Adityanath directed all district magistrates to take fast and stringent action against illegal immigrants.

The developments come at a time when the Opposition is agitated over Election Commission’s ongoing special intensive revision of electoral rolls in 12 states and UTs.