Proof of life: On the Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill 2026

The Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill 2026 passed in the Lok Sabha amends Section 13(3) of the 1969 Act. In the updated framework, registrations delayed for up to two years still require a district, a subdivisional or an authorised executive magistrate’s order, but when the delay exceeds two years, a judicial magistrate is required to verify the event and pass an order. The 2023 amendment rendered birth certificates the principal, in fact near-conclusive, proof of date and place of birth for school admission, voter rolls and applications for passport, Aadhaar, driving licence and government jobs. It also allowed the Centre and States to create digital databases, and required them to share data with the Registrar General. As the certificate’s gatekeeping power grew, so did the incentive to obtain one fraudulently, leading to the 2026 amendment. However, the Bill’s passage lacked debate in the Lok Sabha as the Opposition was protesting the July 20 police crackdown on the CJP protests. Since identity documents have also become more politically sensitive, moving potentially more contentious cases into courts insulates the administration from accusations that it is arbitrarily granting or refusing documentation. But while judicial scrutiny places the decision at arm’s length from the executive, erroneous decisions could prove more difficult for disadvantaged applicants to rectify.