Disclaimer: This has been reported after the availability of the order of the Court and not on media reports so as to give an accurate report to our readers.
Allahabad High Court: In a writ petition, the Division Bench of Atul Sreedharan and Anish Kumar Gupta, JJ., expressed concern regarding the issuance of multiple birth certificates and directed the Department of Medical and Health to file an affidavit in this regard.
At the outset, the Court stated that although the State Government was not a party to the present writ petition, the birth certificates in question were issued by it. The Court noted that the birth certificates presented by the Deputy Director of the UIDAI Regional Office, Lucknow, were both issued by the Registrar of Births and Deaths at two different locations: one from the Gram Panchayat at Har Singhpur and the other at the Primary Health Center, Manauta.
The first certificate, issued by the Gram Panchayat, Harsinghpur, showed the date of birth as 01-01-2005 and the registration date as 14-11-2022. The second certificate, issued by the Primary Health Center, Manauta, showed the date of birth as 10-12-2007 and registration date as 21-08-2020.
The Court remarked, “Prima facie, it’s a mess. It appears that anyone at any point in time can get a date of birth certificate issued with whichever date they want from wherever in the State. In one way, this shows the extent of dishonesty existing at all levels, and how easy it is to get these documents made which can be used as strong prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein, even for criminal prosecutions.”
To seek clarification of the situation, the Court directed the Principal Secretary, Department of Medical and Health, which is in charge of issuing these certificates, to file a detailed affidavit by the next date and provide an explanation regarding the state of affairs existing in his department, specifically in relation to the issuance of birth certificates. He shall also state on record the steps or provisions existing to ensure that no fraudulent certificates can be issued by the department. The Court also directed that if the system was broken, the Principal Secretary shall also suggest what steps the department proposed to take forthwith to rectify this anomaly and ensure that only one birth certificate is ever issued.
Accordingly, the case was listed for 10-12-2025, and the Principal Secretary was impleaded.
[Shivanki v. Union of India, WRIT – C No. 40200 of 2025, decided on 18-11-2025]
Advocates who appeared in this case:
For the petitioner: Gyanendra Kumar Saini, Sheikh Moazzam Inam
For the respondent: A.S.G.I., Rajesh Tripathi