Now government says Aadhaar not mandatory for death certificates

In a statement, the home ministry said the use of Aadhaar number for death certificate will help establish the identity of the deceased and ensure accuracy of details provided by relatives or dependen

The government clarified that the use of Aadhaar to register deaths will not be mandatory. On Friday a strong pitch was made for the use of Aadhaar number to register deaths to prevent "identity fraud".

The Registrar General India (RGI), in a notification, stated that the Aadhaar-linked death registration will start from October 1.

The government, however, clarified that it was not mandatory. If an applicant is not aware of the Aadhaar number or Enrolment ID Number (EID) of the deceased, he or she will be required to provide a certificate that the deceased person did not possess Aadhaar number to the best of their knowledge.

In a statement, the home ministry said the use of Aadhaar number for death certificate will help establish the identity of the deceased and ensure accuracy of details provided by relatives or dependents of the deceased and obviate the need for producing multiple documents.

"Any false declaration given by the applicant in this regard will be treated as an offence as per the provisions of the Aadhaar Act, 2016 and also Registration of Birth and Death Act, 1969," the statement said, adding that the Aadhaar number of the applicant and his/her spouse and parents shall also be collected.

OneIndia News