The governments in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra have announced that Aadhaar cards will no longer be accepted as a birth certificate or as proof of date of birth.
Both state governments have issued official orders telling departments to stop treating Aadhaar as a valid birth record.
This came following reports of misuse of Aadhaar details to obtain birth certificates, particularly in delayed or suspicious registrations.
The Supreme Court allowed the use of Aadhaar for identity verification earlier this year during the inclusion in the Bihar electoral roll.
In September, the court directed the Election Commission to treat the Aadhaar card as a 12th document, which can be produced as proof of identity for inclusion in the revised voters' list of Bihar.
The state governments said that Aadhaar does not contain an official birth certificate inside it, adding that it only shows basic identity details, not hospital or government records of birth.
Maharashtra’s revenue department has introduced a 16-point verification process for birth-related documents.
It also said that orders issued by deputy tehsildars after the August 2023 amendment must be withdrawn and rechecked by the district collector.
The state has instructed officials to take action against officers who issued birth certificates using Aadhaar alone.
The revenue department has further instructed that pending applications be reviewed and that any record not matching the official order must be cancelled. Incorrect entries on the Civil Registration System (CRS) portal have to be deleted without delay.
The notice flagged 14 regions with high numbers of unauthorised registrations, including Amravati, Sillod, Akola, Sambhajinagar City, Latur, Parbhani, Beed, Jalna, and others. Tehsildars and police stations have been asked to conduct serious investigations into these records.
In Uttar Pradesh, the planning department has instructed all departments that Aadhaar cannot be treated as a birth certificate, for no birth-related document is attached to it, ANI reported.
The order was issued by Amit Singh Bansal, special secretary in the planning department.
Last week, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Adityanath had directed officials to act against illegal immigrants.
He said that all districts have been told to identify illegal immigrants and take action according to the rules. Temporary detention centres will be set up in each district to hold foreigners until their verification is completed.
Those found to be illegal immigrants will be deported following proper procedures.
Uttar Pradesh shares an open border with Nepal, allowing free movement for citizens of both countries. People from Nepal, however, must undergo checks.
