AADHAAR FOR BIRTH, MARRIAGE AND
DEATH
By
S.G.Vombatkere**
Extant
law makes it mandatory for every citizen to formally register births, marriages
and deaths in the family. A birth certificate is proof of age and a death
certificate is proof that a person has died and, for example, his/her name is
to be deleted from a Voter's List. A marriage certificate shows that a man and
a woman are legally married, their living together is socially acceptable and
their progeny are legitimate. The civic body recording these events issues
birth, marriage and death certificates, which are legal, primary civic
documents concerning biological persons for identity, legal liability and
inheritance, besides other legal, social and welfare purposes.
Government
of Delhi (GoD) has very recently announced [http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/uid-number-aadhar-scheme-identification-crisis/1/259075.html "With 95 per
cent registrations in order, Delhi to soon switch to UID numbers for utility
services”] that “[f]rom paying bills
to getting a driving licence, Delhiites will soon have to depend on a unique
identification (UID) number to avail a host of utility services”. The Chandigarh
UT administration had made the UID-Aadhaar number mandatory for registration of
motor vehicles and for obtaining driving licences. The order was challenged in
the Punjab & Haryana High Court, and was withdrawn. GoD now passing a
similar order in ignorance of the Chandigarh case, will result in coercing
citizens to enroll for the Aadhaar number or to engage in unnecessary
litigation. Demanding an Aadhaar number for transactions (paying bills, driving
licence, etc) where the citizen is paying for the service rendered with no loss
to the state, is without logical or legal strength – it appears to be a crude
ploy to force people into enrolling for UID-Aadhaar.
Administrations
appear to be ignorant of the basis of civic documentation, because they are even
making the UID-Aadhaar number mandatory for citizens to obtain basic civic
documents like birth, marriage and death certificates, as GoD has done. How
would a birth certificate be issued in respect of an infant whose parents do
not have Aadhaar numbers? How would the death certificate be issued in respect
of a person whose death is reported by his progeny if the deceased or his
progeny do not have an Aadhaar number? There are other questions, but suffice
it to say that birth, marriage and death are the most fundamental events for
biological persons, and when responsibly reported to civic authorities as
mandated by law, the civic authorities are duty bound to unconditionally
register these events. Possession of certificates recording these events are the
right of every citizen.
If
issue of birth and death certificates are made subject to UID-Aadhaar, it is
entirely possible that numbers of people may be demographically excluded
because they were not able to obtain those certificates for want of the Aadhaar
number. To carry the argument a bit further, if a man and a woman without
Aadhaar numbers marry, they will not be able to get a marriage certificate,
without which their children will be technically illegitimate. Also, their
children will not be able to get birth certificates. Thus, the whole family
will become non-persons. In fact, such a couple without a UID number would be
well advised to use an IUD or other contraceptive device, and produce no
children!
Civic
authorities demanding a UID-Aadhaar number (which is not covered by any extant
law) as a pre-condition for issue of a primary civic document which is mandated
by law, puts bureaucratic ignorance and callousness on display. The political
executive which is finally responsible cannot plead ignorance. The coercive
mission of UIDAI is being pushed to ridiculous lengths by
political-bureaucratic incompetence.
*******************************************************************************
** Major General S.G. Vombatkere retired as the Additional
Director General, Discipline & Vigilance in Army HQ, New Delhi. The
President of India awarded him the Visishta Seva Medal in 1993 for
distinguished service rendered over 5 years in Ladakh. He holds a PhD degree in
Structural Dynamics from IIT, Madras. He is Adjunct Associate Professor of the
University of Iowa, USA, and is a member of NAPM and PUCL. He writes on
strategic and development-related issues.
Contact details:
Maj Gen S.G.Vombatkere (Retd) // 475, 7th Main Road //
Vijayanagar 1st Stage // Mysore – 570017
Tel:0821-2515187; E-mail:
*******************************************************************************