SHILLONG: The High Court of Meghalaya has cautioned hospitals and their functionaries not to harass people for registration of births and deaths and added that any default in future may invite stern action.
The court on Tuesday disposed of a PIL filed by Aneeta Synrem who had brought forth several shortcomings in the operation of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, and the Rules framed in Meghalaya, which were causing hardships to the common people.
Earlier, after the court issued a series of orders, the Directorate of Health Services took requisite measures to rectify the deficiencies and streamline the process of registration of births and deaths in the state.
The court expected that the directorate should regularly monitor the process of registration of births and deaths and ensure the compliance of law, while taking the requisite action, in case of any default being found.
Registration of birth of orphans
The court also took up the issue of registration of birth of orphans and abandoned children and in response to queries, the additional senior government advocate had placed before the court the guidelines issued by the Registrar General, the Ministry of Home Affairs by way of a circular on July 3, 2015, under Section 3(3) of the Act of 1969.
The Act states that “in case the place of birth of the orphan child is not known, the place where the orphanage is located or the child is residing may be treated as the place of birth of the child and secondly, in case the date of birth of the child is not known, the age may be determined by the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) having jurisdiction over the area where the orphanage is located or the child is residing and a probable date of birth assigned”.
According to the circular, the date of birth as assigned by the CMO can be taken as the date of birth and entered in the birth reporting form. In case the names of parents are known to the in-charge of the institution or guardian, the same should be entered in the form. In case the names are not known, the column for names of parents will remain blank.
The government advocate pointed out that for appropriate and concrete proceedings, the District Medical and Health Officer, East Khasi Hills District, had issued instructions for taking reports of ossification test so as to determine the age and corresponding date of birth of the child concerned as near to the actual date as possible.
The court ordered that the Directorate of Health Services should release again the circular related to the registration of birth of orphans and also instructions issued by the District Medical and Health Officer, East Khasi Hills, for the guidance of, and compliance by all concerned.
