The Registration of Births and
Deaths Act, 1969
(Act No. 18 of
1969)
[
An Act to provide for the regulation of registration of births and
deaths
and for matters connected therewith.
Be it enacted by Parliament in the Twentieth Year of the
CHAPTER I
1.
Short title,
extent and commencement—(1) This Act may be called the
Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969.
(2) It extends to the whole of
(3) It shall come
into force in a State on such date as the Central Government may, by
notification in the Official Gazette, appoint :
Provided that different dates may
be appointed for difference parts of a State.
1.
Definitions and
interpretation—(1)
In this Act, unless the context otherwise
requires,
(a) “birth” means live-birth or still-birth ;
(b) “death” means the permanent
disappearance of all evidence of life at any time after live-birth has taken
place ;
(c) “foetal death” means absence of all evidence of life
prior to the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of
conception irrespective of the duration of pregnancy ;
(d) “live-birth”
means the complete expulsion of extraction from its mother of a product of
conception, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy, which, after such
expulsion or extraction, breathes or shows any other evidence of life, and each
product of such birth is considered live-born ;
(e) “prescribed”
means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(f) “State Government”, in relation to a Union territory, means the
Administrator thereof;
(g) “still-birth” means foetal
death where a product of conception has attained at least the prescribed period
of gestation.
(2)
Any reference in this Act to any
law which is not in force in any area shall, in relation to that area, be
construed as a reference to the corresponding law, if any, in force in that
area.
CHAPTER II
REGISTRATION
ESTABLISHMENT
3. Registrar
General,
(2) The Central
Government may also appoint such other officers with such designations as it
thinks fit for the purpose of discharging, under the superintendence and direction
of the Registrar-General, such functions of the Registrar-General under this
Act as he may, from time to time, authorize them to discharge.
(3) The
Registrar-General may issue general directions regarding registration of births
and deaths in the territories to which this Act extends, and shall take steps
to co-ordinate and unify the activities of Chief Registrars in the matter of
registration of births and deaths and submit to the Central Government an
annual report on the working of this Act in the said territories.
4. Chief Registrar—(1) The State
Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint a Chief
Registrar for the State.
(2) The State
Government may also appoint such other officers with such designations as it
thinks fit for the purpose of discharging, under the superintendence and
direction of the Chief Registrar, such of his functions as he may, from time to
time, authorize them to discharge.
(3) The Chief
Registrar shall be the chief executive authority in the State for carrying into
execution the provisions of this Act and the rules and orders made thereunder subject to the directions, if any, given by the
State Government.
(4) The Chief
Registrar shall take steps by the issue of suitable instructions or otherwise,
to co-ordinate, unify and supervise the work of registration in the State for
securing an efficient system of registration and shall prepare and submit to
the State Government, in such manner and at such intervals as may be
prescribed, a report on the working of this Act in the State alongwith the statistical report referred to in sub-section
(2) of section 19.
5. Registration
divisions—The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette,
divide the territory within the State into such registration divisions as it
may think fit and prescribe different rules for different registration
divisions.
6. District Registrar—(1) The State Government may appoint a
District Registrar for each revenue district and such number of Additional
District Registrars as it thinks fit who shall, subject to the general control
and direction of the District Registrar, discharge such functions of the
district Registrar as the District Registrar may, from time to time, authorize
them to discharge.
7. Registrars—(1) The State Government may appoint a
Registrar for each local area comprising the area within the jurisdiction of a
municipality, Panchayat or other local authority or
any other area or a combination of any two or more of them :
Provided that the
State Government may appoint in the case of a municipality, Panchayat
or other local authority, any officer or other employee thereof as a Registrar.
(2) Every
Registrar shall, without fee or reward, enter in the register maintained for
the purpose all information given to him under section 8 or section 9 and shall
also take steps to inform himself carefully of every birth and of every death
which takes place in his jurisdiction and to ascertain and register the
particulars required to be registered.
(3)
Every Registrar shall have an office in the local area for
which he is appointed.
(4)
Every Registrar shall attend his office for the purpose of
registering births and deaths on such days and at such hours as the Chief
Registrar may direct and shall cause to be placed in some conspicuous place on
or near the outer door of the office of the Registrar a board bearing, in the
local language, his name with the addition of Registrar of Births and Deaths
for the local area for which he is appointed, and the days and hours of his
attendance.
(5) The
Registrar may, with the prior approval of the Chief Registrar, appoint
Sub-Registrars and assign to them any or all of his powers and duties in
relation to specified areas within his jurisdiction.
8. Persons
required to register births and deaths—(1) It shall be the duty of the persons specified below to give or
cause to be given, either orally or in writing, according to the best of their
knowledge and belief, within such time as may be prescribed, information to the
Registrar of the several particulars required to be entered in the forms
prescribed by the State Government under sub-section (1) of section 16,--
(a) in respect of
births and deaths in a house, whether residential or non-residential, not being
any place referred to in clauses (b)
to (e), the head of the house or, in
case more than one household live in the house, the head of the household, the
head being the person, who is so recognized by the house or the household, and
if he is not present in the house at any time during the period within which
the birth or death has to be reported, the nearest relative of the head present
in the house, and in the absence of any such person, the oldest adult male
person present therein during the said period;
(b) in respect of
births and deaths in a hospital, health center, maternity or nursing home or
other like institution, the medical officer in charge or any person authorized
by him in this behalf;
(c) in respect of
births and deaths in a jail, the jailor in charge ;
(d) in respect of
births and deaths in a choultry, chattram,
hostel, dharmasala, boarding house, lodging house,
tavern, barrack, toddy shop or place of public resort, the person in charge
thereof ;
(e) in respect of
any new-born child or dead body found deserted in a public place, the headman
or other corresponding officer of the village in the case of a village and
officer in charge of the local police station elsewhere :
Provided that any person who finds such child
or dead body, or in whose charge such child or dead body may be placed, shall
notify such fact to the headman or officer aforesaid ;
(f) in any other place,
such person as may be prescribed.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in
sub-section (1), the State
Government, having regard to the conditions obtaining in a registration
division, may be order require that for such period as may be specified in the
order, any person specified by the State Government by designation in this
behalf, shall give or cause to be given information regarding births and deaths
in a house referred to in clause (a)
of sub-) section (1) instead of the
persons specified in that clause.
9. Special provision
regarding births and deaths in a plantation—In the case of births and deaths
in a plantation, the superintendent of the plantation shall give or cause to be
given to the Registrar the information referred to in section 8:
Provided that the
persons referred to in clauses (a) to
(f) of sub-section (i) of section
8 shall furnish the necessary particulars to the superintendent of the
plantation.
Explanation – In this section, the expression
“plantation” means any land not less than four hectares in extent which is
being prepared for the production of, or actually produces, tea, coffee,
pepper, rubber, cardamom, cinchona or such other products as the State
Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify and the
expression “superintendent of the plantation” means the person having the
charge or supervision of the labourers and work in the
plantation whether called a manager, superintendent or by any other name.
10.
Duty of certain
persons to notify births and deaths and to certify cause of death—(1) It shall be the duty of—
(i) the
midwife or any other medical or health attendant at a birth or death,
(ii) the keeper or the owner of a place set apart
for the disposal of dead bodies or any person required by a local authority to
be present at such place, or
(iii)
any other person whom the State Government may specify in this behalf by his designation,
to notify every birth or death or both at which he or she attended or was
present, or which occurred in such areas as may be prescribed, to the Registrar
within such time and in such manner as may be prescribed.
(2)
In any area, the State Government, having regard to the facilities available
therein in this behalf, may require that a certificate as to the cause of death
shall be obtained by the Registrar from such person and in such form as may be
prescribed.
(3)
Where the State Government has required under sub-section (2) that a
certificate as to the cause of death shall be obtained, in the event of the
death of any person who, during his last illness was attended by a medical
practitioner, the medical practitioner shall, after the death of that person,
forthwith, issue without charging any fee, to the person required under this
Act to give information concerning the death, a certificate in the prescribed
form stating to the best of his knowledge and belief the cause of death; and
the certificate shall be received and delivered by such person to the Registrar
at the time of giving information concerning the death as required by this Act.
11. Informant to sign the register – Every person who has orally given
to the Registrar may information required under this Act shall write in the
register maintained in this behalf, his name, description and place of abode,
and, if he cannot write, shall put his thumb mark in the register against his
name, description and place of abode, the particulars being in such a case
entered by the Registrar.
12. Extracts of registration entries to be
given to informant.—The Registrar shall, as soon as the registration of a
birth or death has been completed, give, free of charge, to the person who
gives information under section 8 or section 9 an
extract of the prescribed particulars under his hand from the register relating
to such birth or death.
13. Delayed registration of births and
deaths. – (1) Any birth or death of which information is given to the
Registrar after the expiry of the period specified therefore, but within thirty
days of its occurrence, shall be registered on payment of such late fee as may
be prescribed.
(2)
Any birth or death of which delayed information is given to the Registrar after
thirty days but within one year of its occurrence shall be registered only with
the written permission of the prescribed authority and on payment of the
prescribed fee and the production of an affidavit made before a notary public
or any other office authorized in this behalf by the State Government.
(3)
Any birth or death which has not been registered within one year of its occurrence, shall be registered only on an order made by a
magistrate of the first class or a Presidency Magistrate after verifying the
correctness of the birth or death and on payment of the prescribed fee.
(4)
The provisions of this section shall be without prejudice to any action that
may be taken against a person for failure on his part to register any birth or
death within the time specified therefore and any such birth or death may be
registered during the pendency of any such action.
14. Registration of name of child.—Where the birth of any child has
been registered without a name, the parent or guardian of such child shall within
the prescribed period give information regarding the name of the child to the
Registrar either orally or in writing and thereupon the Registrar shall enter
such name in the register and initial and date of the entry.
15. Correction or cancellation of entry in the register of births and
deaths.—If it is proved to the satisfaction of the Registrar that any entry
of a birth or death in any register kept by him under this Act is erroneous in
form or substance, or has been fraudulently or improperly made, he may, subject
to such rules as may be made by the State Government with respect to the
conditions on which and the circumstances in which such entries may be
corrected or cancelled, correct the error or cancel the entry by suitable entry
in the margin, without any alteration of the original entry, and shall sign the
marginal entry and add thereto the date of the correction or cancellation.
MAINTENANCE OF
RECORDS AND STATISTICS
16. Registrars to keep registers in the prescribed form – (1)
Every Registrar shall keep in the prescribed form a register of births and
deaths for the registration area or any part thereof in relation to which he
exercises jurisdiction.
(2) The Chief Registrar
shall cause to be printed and supplied a sufficient number of register books
for making entries of births and deaths according to such forms and
instructions as may, from time to time, be prescribed; and a copy of such forms
in the local language shall be posted in some conspicuous place on or near the
outer door of the office of every Registrar.
17. Search of births and deaths register—(1) Subject to any rules made in this behalf by the State
Government, including rules relating to the payment of fees and postal charges,
any person may--
(a) cause a search to
be made by the Registrar for any entry in a register of births and deaths; and
(b) obtain an extract
from such register relating to any birth or death :
Provided that no extract relating
to any death, issued to any person, shall disclose the particulars regarding
the cause of death as entered in the register.
(2) All extracts given under this section shall be certified by
the Registrar or any other officer authorised by the
State Government to give such extracts as provided in section 76 of the Indian
Evidence Act, 1872 (1 of 1872), and shall be admissible in evidence for the
purpose of proving the birth or death to which the entry relates.
18. Inspection of registration offices – The
registration offices shall be inspected and the registers kept therein shall be
examined in such manner and by such authority as may be specified by the
District Registrar.
19. Registrars to send periodical returns to the Chief
Registrar for compilation—(1) Every
Registrar shall send to the Chief Registrar or ot any
officer specified by him, at such intervals and in such form as may be
prescribed, a return regarding the entries of births and deaths in the register
kept by such Registrar.
(2) The Chief Registrar shall cause the information in the
returns furnished by the Registrars to be compiled and shall publish for the
information of the public a statistical report on the registered births and
deaths during the year at such intervals and in such form as may be prescribed.
20.
Special provision as to registration of births and deaths of citizens outside
India—(1) The Registrar
General shall, subject to such rules as may be made by the Central Government
in this behalf, cause to be registered information as to births and deaths of
citizens of India outside India received by him under the rules relating to the
registration of such citizens at Indian Consulates made under the Citizenship
Act, 1955 (57 of 1955), and every such registration shall also be deemed to
have been duly made under this Act.
(2)
In the case of any child born outside India in respect of whom information has
not been received as provided in sub-section (1), if the parents of the child
returns to India with a view to settling therein, they may, at any time within
sixty days from the date of the arrival of the child in India, get the birth of
the child registered under this Act in the same manner as if the child was born
in India and the provisions of section 13 shall apply to the birth of such
child after the expiry of the period of sixty days aforesaid.
21. Power of
Registrar to obtain information regarding birth or death—The Registrar
may either orally or in writing require any person to furnish any information
within his knowledge in connection with a birth or death in the locality within
which such person resides and that person shall be bound to comply with such
requisition.
22.
Power to give directions—The Central Government may give such directions to
any State Government as may appear to be necessary for carrying into execution
in the State any of the provisions of this Act or of any rule or order made
there under.
23.
Penalties—(1) Any
person who—
(a)
fails without reasonable cause to give any information which
it is his duty to give under any of the provisions of sections 8 and 9; or
(b)
gives or causes to be given, for the purpose of being
inserted in any register of births and deaths, any information which he knows
or believes to be false regarding any of the particulars required to be known
and registered; or
(c)
refuses to write his
name, description and place of abode or to put his thumb mark in the register
as required by section 11, shall be punishable with fine which may extend to
fifty rupees.
(2) Any Registrar or Sub-Registrar
who neglects or refuses, without reasonable cause, to register any birth or
death occuring in his jurisdiction or to submit any
returns as required by sub-section (1) of section 19 shall be punishable with
fine which may extend to fifty rupees.
(3) Any medical practitioner who
neglects or refuses to issue a certificate under sub-section (3) of section 10
and any person who neglects or refuses to deliver such certificate shall be
punishable with fine which may extend to fifty rupees.
(4) Any person who, without
reasonable cause, contrvenes any provision of this Act
for the contravention of which no penalty is provided for in this section shall
be punishable with fine which may extend to ten rupees.
(5) Notwithstanding anything contained
in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (5 of 1898), an offence under this section
shall be tried summarily by a Magistrate.
24.
Power to compound offices—(1) Subject to such conditions as may be
prescribed, any officer authorised by the Chief
Registrar by a general or special order in this behalf may, either before or
after the institution of criminal proceedings under this Act, accept from the
person who has committed or is reasonably suspected of having committed an
offence under this Act, by way of composition of such offence a sum of money
not exceeding fifty rupees.
(2)
On the payment of such sum of money, such person shall be discharged and no
further proceedings shall be taken against him in respect of such offence.
25.
Sanction for prosecution—No prosecution for an offence punishable under
this Act shall be instituted except by an officer authorised
by the Chief Registrar by general or special order in this behalf.
26.
Registrars and Sub-Registrars to be deemed public servants—All Registrars
and Sub-Registrars shall, while acting or purporting to act in pursuance of the
provisions of this Act or any rule or order made thereunder
be deemed to be public servants within the meaning of section 21 of the Indian
Penal Code (45 of 1860).
27.
Delegation of powers—The State Government may, by notification in the
Official Gazette, direct that any power exercisable by it under this Act
(except the power to make rules under section 30) or the rules made thereunder shall, subject to such conditions, if any, as
may be specified in the direction be exercisable also by such officer or authority
subordinate to the State Government as may be specified in the direction.
28.
Protection of action taken in good faith—(1) No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie
against the Government, the Registrar General, any Registrar, or any person
exercising any power or performing any duty under this Act for anything which
is in good faith done or intended to be done in pursuance of this Act or any
rule or order made hereunder.
(2)
No suit or other legal proceeding shall lie against the government for any
damage caused or likely to be caused by anything which is in good faith done or
intended to be done in pursuance of this act or any rule or order made thereunder.
29.
Act not to be in derogation of Act 6 of 1886—Nothing
in this Act shall be construed to be in derogation of the provisions of the
Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act, 1886.
30.
Power to make rules—(1) The State Government may with the approval of the
Central Government, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules to
carry out the purposes of this Act.
(2)
In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing
provision, such rules may provide for—
(a)
the forms of registers of births and deaths required
to be kept under this Act;
(b) the period
within which and the form and the manner in which information should be given
to the Registrar under section 8;
(c) the period within which and the
manner in which births and deaths shall be notified under sub-section (1) of
section 10;
(d) the person from whom
and the form in which a certificate as to cause of death shall be obtained;
(e) the particulars of which extract
may be given under section 12
(f) the authority which
may grant permission for registration of a birth or death under sub-section (2)
of section 13;
(g) the fees payable for
registration made under section 13;
(h) the submission of
reports by the Chief Registrar under sub-section (4) of section 4;
(i) the search of birth
and death registers and the fees payable for such search and for the grant of
extracts from the register;
(j) the forms in which
and the intervals at which the returns and the statistical report under section
19 shall be furnished and published;
(k) the custody,
production and transfer of the registers and other records kept by Registrars;
(l) the correction of
errors and the cancellation of entries in the register of births and deaths;
(m) any other matter
which has to be, or may
be, prescribed.
1[(3) Every rule made under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may
be after it is made, before the State Legislature].
31. Repeal and saving—(1)
Subject to the provisions of section 29, as from the coming into force of this
Act in any State or part thereof, so much of any law in force therein as
relates to the matters covered by this Act shall stand repealed in such State
or part, as the case may be.
(2)
Notwithstanding such repeals, anything done or any action taken (including any
instruction or direction issued, any regulation or rule or order made) under
any such law shall, in so far as such thing or action is not inconsistent with
the provisions of this Act, be deemed to have been done or taken under the
provisions aforesaid, as if they were in force when such thing was done or such
action was taken, and shall continue in force accordingly until superseded by
anything done or any action taken under this Act.
32.
Power to remove difficulty—If any difficulty arises in giving effect in a
State to the provisions of this Act in their application to any areas, the
State Government may, with the approval of the Central Government, by order
make such provisions or give such directions not inconsistent with the
provisions of this Act as appears to the State Government to be necessary or
expedient for removing the difficulty :
Provided that no order shall be made
under this section in relation to any area in a State after the expiration of
two years from the date on which this Act comes into force in that area.
1. Ins. by Act 4
of 1986, s.2 and Schedule (w.e.f.15.5.1986).