India Bill Would Require Judicial Orders for Late Birth, Death Registration

A bill introduced in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday would require a judicial magistrate's order for births and deaths reported more than two years after the event, tightening the existing system that relies on local administrators. The Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2026, amends Section 13(3) of the 1969 Act, which was itself amended in 2023.

Under current law, a registration delayed by more than a year requires an order from a District Magistrate, Sub-divisional Magistrate, or an Executive Magistrate. The proposed change keeps that process for delays of one to two years. For delays beyond two years, the bill shifts authority to a first-class judicial magistrate.

That move from the executive to the judiciary, the bill's text shows, is meant to "make provisions of delayed registrations more stringent" and "encourage timely reporting of event of birth and death," according to the Deccan Herald's report on the bill.

Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai introduced the bill after Speaker Om Birla called for opposition members to oppose the introduction. None did. The Union Cabinet had cleared the bill for introduction on July 20.