Karnataka says Aadhaar cannot be used as proof of age for marriage registration
Karnataka has tightened marriage-registration rules by directing officials not to accept Aadhaar as proof of age. The move follows cases in which Aadhaar and birth-certificate details did not match, contributing to concerns over child marriage.
Authorities in Karnataka have tightened the rules for registering marriages by directing that Aadhaar cards cannot be accepted as proof of age, The Hindu reported. The direction was issued after incidents in which the age recorded on an Aadhaar card differed from the age shown on a birth certificate. According to the report, such mismatches resulted in child marriage.
The change means Aadhaar is not to be treated as the document establishing an applicant’s age during marriage registration. The available material does not identify the authority that issued the direction or specify which documents officials must use instead. It also does not provide figures for the number of cases in which discrepancies were found, or explain when the revised procedure took effect.
The measure is intended to address the risk that inconsistent identity records could allow a person below the legal marriage age to be registered as an adult. The report provides no further details about enforcement or penalties.
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