Big decision of Allahabad High Court: Aadhar card is not a strong proof of age, government should tighten the rules of marriage registration; Know the important comments of the court

Prayagraj/Law correspondent. The Allahabad High Court, while hearing an important case related to marriage and age verification, has ruled that Aadhaar card cannot be considered as conclusive proof of a person’s date of birth or age. Expressing serious concern over the increasing cases of marriage of minors, registration of marriages with the help of fake documents and protection petitions, a single bench of Justice has issued strict directions to the Uttar Pradesh government. The court clarified that under the Aadhaar Act, this document is only proof of identity and residence and not official evidence of age determination. Along with this, the court has directed the state government to immediately amend the marriage registration rules and make the age verification process more transparent, strict and accountable than before.

The court observed that in recent years, the trend of presenting Aadhaar card as the primary document of age in protection petitions and petitions for legal recognition of marriage has increased rapidly. In many cases, huge differences were found between the date of birth recorded in school certificates or municipal body birth certificates and the date recorded in the Aadhaar card.

• Threat to validity of illegal marriages: The Court underlined that marriages are registered on the basis of erroneous or deliberately changed date of birth recorded in the Aadhaar card, despite not attaining the legal marriageable age (18 years for girls and 21 years for boys). This subsequently gives rise to serious legal, social and marital disputes.

• Ban on fraud: Some of the loopholes in the past in the process of updating the date of birth in the Aadhaar card are misused and the age is often increased, leading to legal complications in cases related to child marriage and kidnapping.

The high court in its order also referred to the official guidelines issued from time to time by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and circulars sent to various ministries.

• UIDAI has clearly stated that Aadhaar card is a 12 digit unique identification number, whose primary purpose is to provide biometric identification of a citizen and to extend the benefits of government welfare schemes to the targeted beneficiaries.

• The date of birth recorded at the time of issuing Aadhaar card is in many cases a self-declaration given by the individual or is recorded without any hard primary record. Therefore, it has been reiterated in various judicial decisions and precedents of the Supreme Court that Aadhaar cannot be considered as a decisive document for determining age.

The High Court made it clear that for determination of age during marriage registration authorities and judicial inquiry, reliance should be placed primarily on the documents which are issued under statutory scrutiny:

1. Birth certificate issued under the Birth and Death Registration Act: Official birth certificate issued by the Registrar of Municipal Corporation, Municipality or Gram Panchayat.

2. Matriculation (10th class) certificate: High school mark sheet or original certificate issued by any recognized education board (like CBSE, ICSE or UP Board) clearly mentioning the official date of birth.

3. Record of first admission school: In case the person is illiterate or less educated, TC (Transfer Certificate) of the school first attended by him or a duly attested record of school register.

4. Medical/Ossification Test: ‘Ossification test’ (bone test) conducted by a competent medical board in highly disputed or unavoidable circumstances when no formal documentation is available.

The court has directed the Chief Secretary of the Government of Uttar Pradesh and the concerned departments to:

• Modifications to Marriage Registration Software and Forms: Instead of accepting Aadhaar card as mandatory proof of date of birth on the online marriage registration portal, 10th class certificate or birth certificate issued by the competent authority should be made mandatory.

• Responsibilities of Registration Officers: Marriage registrars should be instructed not to register marriages just by looking at the date written in the Aadhaar card. Proper verification of documents should be done at the primary level so that attempts to legalize marriages of minors can be stopped.

• Dissemination of Guidelines: Clear administrative circulars should be issued to strictly implement this system in all District Magistrates and Registration Offices.

After this strict stance of the court, now the process of age verification during marriage registration in Uttar Pradesh will change significantly and it will not be possible to obtain a legal certificate of marriage on the basis of fake or tampered documents.