Come October 1, when death certificates will be issued after relatives of the deceased provide Aadhaar number to authorities, a government notification said on Friday.
The notification by the office of the Registrar General, which functions under the home ministry, said an applicant is required to provide Aadhaar number or enrolment ID Number of the deceased and other details as sought in the application for death certificate for the purpose of establishing the identity of the deceased.
However, if the applicant is not aware of the Aadhaar number or 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 his or her knowledge, the notification 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.
Three Pakistani nationals were able to get Aadhaar on the basis of forged documents, Minister of State for Electronics and IT P P Chaudhary informed the Rajya Sabha on Friday.
He said action has been taken against officers who had issued fake documents to these Pakistani nationals.
"There has been instance where three alleged Pakistani nationals have submitted the said certificate during enrolment and subsequently got Aadhaar," Chaudhary said in response to query on whether Pakitsani nationals have been issued Aadhaar on basis of fake certificates.
For Aadhaar enrolment, an applicant is required to submit identity and address proof with photo on the certificate, the minister said.
"FIR has been lodged against the Officer who had issued the certificate without verifying details of the individuals." he added.
"It will provide an effective method to prevent identity fraud," it said.
The directive would be applicable for the residents of all states except Jammu and Kashmir, Assam and Meghalaya, for which a date would be notified separately.
"The Aadhaar number will be required for the purpose of establishing the identity of the deceased for the purpose of death registration with effect from October 1," according to the notification.
The production of Aadhaar number 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.
The Registrar General has directed all states and Union Territories to ensure compliance by the registration authorities concerned and send a confirmation on or before September 1.
The notification also warned that if any false declaration is given by the applicant, it will be treated "as an offence" according to the provisions of the Aadhaar Act and the Registration of Birth and Death Act.
The applicant's Aadhaar number will also be collected along with the Aadhaar number of the spouse or parents of the deceased.
The office of the Registrar General is the central authority to coordinate and unify the activities of chief registrar of birth and death in states and Union Territories.
