Introduction
The Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2023 was passed in the Lok Sabha on August 1, 2023 and in the Rajya Sabha on August 7, 2023. It received the presidential assent on August 11, 2023 and became an Act. This Act seeks to introduce significant changes to the existing Registration of Births and Deaths Act of 1969. It focuses on reforming and streamlining the process by which births and deaths are registered in India with the help of appropriate technologies.
The 1969 Act provides for the regulation and registration of births and deaths in the country. As the registration of births and deaths is a part of the Concurrent List, Parliament as well as the state legislatures are authorised to frame laws on the aforementioned subject.
By the year 2019, the proportion of the registration of births was 93 per cent and that of death registration was 92 per cent at the national level in India.
Main Provisions
The main provisions of the Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Act 2023 are as follows:
- Database of births and deaths The 1969 Act states that a Registrar-General of India is appointed who would be responsible for issuing general guidelines for the registration of births and deaths. The 2023 Amendment Act adds that a database of registered births and deaths would be kept and maintained at the national level by the registrar-general. The states will appoint the registrars for local area jurisdiction and the chief registrars for other areas. It will be mandatory for both these registrars to submit the data of the registered births and deaths to the national database. Similarly, such a database shall be maintained at the state level by the chief registrar.
- Electronic certificates The Act of 1969 states that any Indian citizen may (i) initiate a search for any entry in the register of births and deaths with the help of the registrar and (ii) acquire an extract from the aforesaid register. The Amendment Act provides that any Indian citizen may get a birth or death certificate in place of extracts. This certificate could be electronic or in any other form.
- Requirement for Aadhaar details of parents and informants As per the RBD Act 1969, certain persons are to inform about the births and deaths to the registrar. For instance, the birth of a baby must be reported by the medical officer of the hospital where the baby is born. The Amendment Act states that in case of the birth of a baby, the specified persons are also required to furnish the Aadhaar details of the parents along with their own details.
This provision is also applicable to
(i) the manager or owner of a hotel or an accommodation in case of births taking place there;
(ii) the jailor in case of births taking place in a jail.
Besides, the Amendment Act also includes the following in the list of specified persons:
(i) biological parents in case of birth via surrogacy;
(ii) adoptive parents in case of non-institutional adoption; and
(iii) the parent when a child is born to a single parent or unwed mother.
- Unified database and its sharing The Amendment Act provides that the authorities responsible for maintaining other databases, such as electoral rolls, population register, ration card, and any other notified databases may have access to the national database. However, the approval of the central government is necessary to make use of the national database. Similarly, the authorities concerned with other state databases may have access to the state database with the approval of the state government.
- Use of the birth certificate The Amendment Act states that the date and place of birth of people born on or after the implementation of the Act must be proved using the birth and death certificates.
This information can be further used in the following situations:
(i) While getting admission to a school, college, or university
(ii) While getting appointed to a government job
(iii) While issuing driving licences, passports, or Aadhaar number
(iv) While preparing the voter lists
(v) At the time of marriage registration
(iv) Any other purpose as notified by the central government
- Process of appeal The Amendment Act states that in case any Indian citizen is aggrieved by the action (or order) of the registrar or district registrar, he/she can appeal to the district registrar or chief registrar, respectively, for the redressal of their grievance. The aggrieved citizen must make such an appeal within 30 days of such action (or order). Within 90 days of such an appeal, the district registrar or chief registrar is obligated to give his/her judgment. This provision aims to address disputes (concerns) regarding registration using a proper mechanism.
- In case of epidemic or disaster According to the Amendment Act, at the time of a disaster or epidemic, the registrars can hire special sub-registrars to carry on the registration process. This provision ensures the accuracy of birth and death records even in challenging times.
- Penalties According to the Amendment Act, penalties for violation of the Act or for providing false information have been revised. It imposes fines on the defaulters who provide false information, or do not provide information, or are uncooperative. The extent of penalties depends on the nature of the offence and the category of people involved.
Issues and Concerns
Some of the major issues related to the Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Act, 2023 have been cited as follows:
- Violation of the Constitution As per the Amendment Act, the use of birth certificates is required for various purposes, such as for getting enrolled in an educational institution and getting appointed to a government job. Some of these purposes are actually the fundamental rights of the citizens as laid down in the Constitution of India. These rights may become conditional owing to a birth certificate, and thus, may be violated.
See the following examples:
- If a child does not have a birth certificate, he/she may be denied admission to a school as per the Amendment Act. As a result, the fundamental right to education may be violated under Article 21A. The Right to Education Act, 2009 states that a birth certificate or any other prescribed document may be used to determine a child’s age and give him admission to the elementary school. However, the admission cannot be denied due to the lack of age proof. This kind of exemption is not mentioned in the Amendment Act. This indicates that if there is no registration of a child’s birth, admission to educational institutions could be denied to him all his life.
- Under Article 326 of the Indian Constitution, every citizen whose age is 18 years or above has the right to vote. However, the RBD (Amendment) Act does not mention an individual in the voter’s list due to the absence of his/her birth certificate. This violates the right to vote of that individual.
- Linking Aadhaar with birth records The Amendment Act establishes a link between the Aadhaar details of the parents and the informant (i.e., the medical officer of a hospital, or the jailor of a jail, or the manager of a hotel in case birth takes place in any of these places; or station house officer (SHO) where an abandoned new-born child is found). This provision may result in the violation of the informant’s right to privacy. For example, if a medical officer’s Aadhaar is linked to any child born in his hospital, or an SHO’s Aadhaar is linked to all abandoned children found within his jurisdiction, their Right to Privacy will be violated unreasonably.
- Linking all databases According to the Amendment Act, the national database for births and deaths can be shared with authorities regulating other databases. Similarly, the state database can be shared with authorities regulating other state databases. This is done with the consent of the central and state governments respectively. But the individuals whose data is being shared are not required to give their consent in these matters. This again violates the right to privacy of the concerned individuals.
- Discrimination against children in need of care and protection With the implementation of the Amendment Act, every child born in the country will require the birth certificates for proof of age and place of birth. So, children who do not have birth certificates and are in need of care and protection may be discriminated against. For instance, a child might have run away from home after a few years of his birth or lost his parents in a natural calamity. As their age could not be determined, such children may not enrol themselves in any school across the country.
This Act may also not comply with the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, which focuses on facilitating social reintegration and rehabilitation of children in need of care and protection. It does not provide an alternative proof of age in case of the absence of a birth certificate. However, under the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, there are other ways to find out the age of a person who does not have a birth certificate.
Conclusion
The RBD (Amendment) Act, 2023 is particularly aimed at strengthening the process of birth and death registration in India by incorporating advanced technologies. However, how far the Act proves to be successful is yet to be seen.
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