‘Anyone Can Get Any Birth Certificate in UP’: Allahabad HC Flags Shocking Duplicate Records

The Allahabad High Court has directed the Principal Secretary of Uttar Pradesh’s Department of Medical and Health to personally explain how two conflicting birth certificates for the same individual were issued by two different authorities in the State.

Court has ordered the official to file a detailed affidavit outlining existing safeguards, the reasons behind such discrepancies, and the steps the government will take to prevent fraudulent issuance of birth certificates in the future.

The bench of Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Anish Kumar Gupta passed the order while hearing a writ petition filed by one Shivanki, in which the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) produced two birth certificates belonging to the petitioner, each issued from a different registration point. One certificate was issued by the Registrar of Births and Deaths at the Primary Health Centre in Manauta, while the other was issued by the Registrar at Gram Panchayat, Harsinghpur. Both documents were taken on record by the court.

The conflict between the two documents was stark. The Manauta health centre certificate shows the petitioner’s date of birth as 10 December 2007, and was registered in August 2020. In contrast, the Gram Panchayat certificate records the date of birth as 1 January 2005, registered in November 2022. The two-year gap between the recorded birth dates, coupled with the entirely different places of issuance, led the court to make sharp observations on the functioning of the birth registration system in Uttar Pradesh.

Calling the situation “a mess,” the bench remarked that it appears possible for anyone to obtain a birth certificate with any date from any centre in the State.

The judges noted that the existence of two contradictory certificates raised questions not only about administrative efficiency but also about the level of dishonesty and procedural collapse within the system responsible for maintaining foundational identity records.

"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," the bench said. 

Observing that the system seemed vulnerable to rampant misuse, court stressed the need for an immediate explanation from the State’s highest medical and health administrative authority. It directed the Principal Secretary to explain the processes that permit such inconsistencies, specify whether any checks exist to prevent multiple certificates for the same person, and clarify how birth records are verified at the time of issuance. The official has also been asked to state whether any statewide mechanism exists to prevent duplications and to suggest corrective measures if the current framework is found lacking

Court further said that if the system is broken, the State must propose steps “forthwith” to rectify the anomaly and ensure that only one birth certificate can ever be issued for any individual.

The bench added the Principal Secretary, Medical and Health, as respondent no. 4 in the case. The official, represented in court through counsel, was directed to place the department’s affidavit on record before the next hearing.

Listing the matter for 10 December 2025, the court directed that the affidavit be filed before the next date.

Case Title: Shivanki vs. Union Of India And 2 Others

Order Date: November 18, 2025

Bench: Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Anish Kumar Gupta