In a big decision on Thursday, the Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra governments decided to stop the use of Aadhaar cards as the only proof of one's date of birth, in line with central government guidelines.
"The Aadhaar card is no longer valid as a birth certificate," read a notification from Amit Singh Bansal, Special Secretary of Uttar Pradesh's Planning Department, a Times of India report said.
"No birth certificate is attached to the Aadhaar card; therefore, it cannot be considered a birth certificate," the notification added.
Maharashtra's revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule made a similar announcement on Thursday, pointing out more than ten districts in the state where fake birth certificates were being used. This is reportedly part of a larger drive from the Centre to curb the influx of illegal immigrants.
Bawankule explained that following a high-level meeting with Additional Chief Secretaries of the Home and Revenue departments on Thursday, the Revenue department had issued a 16-point verification guideline for various state-level officials tasked with verifying identity proofs.
He added that all birth certificates made only using the Aadhaar card after the Births and Deaths Registration (Amendment) Act 2023, would be cancelled.
The revenue minister has also warned that if any discrepancy is found between the information provided in the birth certificate application and that in the Aadhaar card, an FIR will be filed.
Those who fail to submit their original birth certificates or who cannot be traced will also be declared fugitives.
This follows an earlier Supreme Court ruling that allowed the Aadhaar to be used as a proof of identity during inclusion in the Bihar electoral roll.
Accepting a demand from the Opposition, the apex court had directed the Election Commission to accept Aadhaar along with the 11 other documents already permitted under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.
With Uttar Pradesh also among the 12 states and union territories that are undergoing the SIR process, CM Yogi Adityanath had directed last week that temporary detention centres would be established in each district to detain infiltrators, in line with the crackdown on illegal immigration.
Notably, Uttar Pradesh shares an open border with Nepal, which allows unrestricted two-way movement only for citizens of both countries, while individuals of other nationalities are checked.
