The government has made Aadhaar number mandatory for the registration of death from October 1.
The home ministry said today that it would be applicable for the residents of all states except Jammu and Kashmir, Assam and Meghalaya, for which a date would be notified separately.
"Aadhaar number will be required for the purpose of establishing the identity of the deceased for the purpose of death registration with effect from October 1," according to a notification issued by the home ministry.
The office of the Registrar General, which functions under the home ministry, said the use of Aadhaar will result in ensuring accuracy of the details provided by the relatives or dependents or acquaintances of the deceased.
"It will provide an effective method to prevent identity fraud. It will also help in recording the identity of the deceased person. Further, it will obviate the need for producing multiple documents to prove the identity of the deceased person," it said.
The announcement by the ministry comes at a time as a nine-judge Supreme Court bench currently contemplates whether Aadhaar breaches a right to privacy.
The government has made quoting of biometric identity number Aadhaar mandatory for opening of bank accounts as well as for any financial transaction of Rs 50,000 and above.
The CBDT has also said that the last date for linking of Aadhaar and PAN is August 31.
Existing bank account holders have been asked to furnish the Aadhaar number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) by December 31, 2017, failing which the account will cease to be operational, according to a revenue department notification.
With Agency Inputs