Aadhaar Not Proof of Birth: Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh Issue Strict New Orders

Moneylife Digital Team 28 November 2025

Public Interest

The Maharashtra revenue department has announced a major crackdown on fraudulent birth and death certificates, declaring that Aadhaar will no longer be accepted as a supporting document for issuing delayed birth certificates. All birth certificates issued solely on the basis of Aadhaar after the implementation of the Births and Deaths Registration (Amendment) Act, 2023, will now be cancelled, the state government says in an order. The Uttar Pradesh government also issued an order stating that Aadhaar will no longer be accepted as a birth certificate or proof of date of birth.

The move comes amid growing concerns over fake certificates being used for illicit activities, including identity theft, property disputes, and the misuse of government benefits. Maharashtra’s minister for revenue, Chandrashekhar Bawankule, has directed officials to cancel all suspicious certificates issued through Aadhaar-based applications and initiate action against officers who approved them.

A detailed 16-point verification guideline issued by the department instructs that all orders passed by deputy tehsildars after the 11 August 2023 amendment must be withdrawn and re-verified at the level of the competent authority or district collector. Pending applications under suspension must be examined urgently, and any certificate that does not comply with the revised standard operating procedure (SOP) or the public health department’s rules must be cancelled. Entries on the civil registration system (CRS) portal should also be deleted without delay.

The guidelines make it clear that Aadhaar cannot be accepted as evidence in any case. If any discrepancy is found between Aadhaar details and the information provided in the application, officials must file a police complaint. Fourteen regions—including Amravati, Sillod, Akola, Sambhajinagar City, Latur, Anjangaon Surji, Achalpur, Pusad, Parbhani, Beed, Gevrai, Jalna, Ardhapur and Parli—have been flagged for unusually high numbers of unauthorised birth-death cases. Tehsildars and local police stations in these areas have been directed to conduct serious investigations.

Municipal bodies and nagar palikas have been instructed to reconcile all delayed birth records. The notice states that several tehsildar offices issued certificates without authorised orders or supporting documents such as school certificates or proof of place or date of birth. Such approvals have been deemed erroneous and executive magistrates and tehsildars must now review and correct all such cases.

Officers have also been told to prepare detailed lists of discrepancies and forward them to the police so that first information reports (FIRs) can be registered wherever fraud or falsification is detected. Applicants whose certificates were issued using only Aadhaar, or whose documents contain conflicting information, will also face scrutiny. If cancelled certificates are not returned by applicants, officials may seek police assistance.

To ensure uniform implementation across the state, divisional commissioners have been asked to hold a one-day coordination meeting with district collectors, tehsildars, municipal authorities, zilla parishads and police officials.

In a related development, Uttar Pradesh has also issued a directive stating that Aadhaar is not a valid document for establishing date of birth. The planning department clarified that since Aadhaar does not contain an officially certified birth record, it cannot be used as a birth certificate.

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