20. Special provision as to registration of births and deaths of citizens outside India.—(1) The
Registrar-General shall, subject to such rules as may be made by the Central Government in this behalf,
cause to be registered information as to births and deaths of citizens of India outside India received by
him under the rules relating to the registration of such citizens at Indian Consulates made under the
Citizenship Act, 1955 (57 of 1955), and every such registration shall also be deemed to have been duly
made under this Act.
(2) In the case of any child born outside India in respect of whom information has not been received
as provided in sub-section (1), if the parents of the child return to India with a view to settling therein,
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they may, at any time within sixty days from the date of the arrival of the child in India, get the birth of
the child registered under this Act in the same manner as if the child was born in India and the provisions
of section 13 shall apply to the birth of such child after the expiry of the period of sixty days aforesaid.
21. Power of Registrar to obtain information regarding birth or death.—The Registrar may either
orally or in writing require any person to furnish any information within his knowledge in connection
with a birth or death in the locality within which such person resides and that person shall be bound to
comply with such requisition.
22. Powers to give directions.—The Central Government may give such directions to any State
Government as may appear to be necessary for carrying into execution in the State any of the provisions
of this Act or of any rule or order made thereunder.
23. Penalties.—(1) Any person who—
(a) fails without reasonable cause to give any information which it is his duty to give under any of
the provisions of sections 8 and 9; or
(b) gives or causes to be given, for the purpose of being inserted in any register of births and
deaths, any information which he knows or believes to be false regarding any of the particulars
required to be known and registered; or
(c) refuses to write his name, description and place of abode or to put his thumb mark in the
register as required by section 11,
shall be punishable with fine which may extend to fifty rupees.
(2) Any Registrar or Sub-Registrar who neglects or refuses, without reasonable cause, to register any
birth or death occurring in his jurisdiction or to submit any returns as required by sub-section (1) of
section 19 shall be punishable with fine which may extend to fifty rupees.
(3) Any medical practitioner who neglects or refuses to issue a certificate under sub-section (3) of
section 10 and any person who neglects or refuses to deliver such certificate shall be punishable with fine
which may extend to fifty rupees.
(4) Any person who, without reasonable cause, contravenes any provision of this Act for the
contravention of which no penalty is provided for in this section shall be punishable with fine which may
extend to ten rupees.
(5) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (5 of 1898), an
offence under this section shall be tried summarily by a magistrate.
24. Power to compound offences.—(1) Subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, any officer
authorised by the Chief Registrar by a general or special order in this behalf may, either before or after the
institution of criminal proceedings under this Act, accept from the person who has committed or is
reasonably suspected of having committed an offence under this Act, by way of composition of such
offence a sum of money not exceeding fifty rupees.
(2) On the payment of such sum of money, such person shall be discharged and no further
proceedings shall be taken against him in respect of such offence.
25. Sanction for prosecution.—No prosecution for an offence punishable under this Act shall be
instituted except by an officer authorised by the Chief Registrar by general or special order in this behalf.
26. Registrars and Sub-Registrars to be deemed public servants.—All Registrars and
Sub-Registrars shall, while acting or purporting to act in pursuance of the provisions of this Act or any
rule or order made thereunder, be deemed to be public servants within the meaning of section 21 of the
Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).
27. Delegation of powers.—The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette,
direct that any power exercisable by it under this Act (except the power to make rules under section 30) or
the rules made thereunder shall, subject to such conditions, if any, as may be specified in the direction, be
exercisable, also by such officer or authority subordinate to the State Government as may be specified in
the direction.
28. Protection of action taken in good faith.—(1) No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding
shall lie against the Government, the Registrar-General, any Registrar, or any person exercising any
power or performing any duty under this Act for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be
done in pursuance of this Act or any rule or order made thereunder.
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(2) No suit or other legal proceeding shall lie against the Government for any damage caused or likely
to be caused by anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done in pursuance, of this Act or
any rule or order made thereunder.
29. Act not to be in derogation of Act 6 of 1886.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed to be in
derogation of the provisions of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act, 1886.
30. Power to make rules.—(1) The State Government may, with the approval of the Central
Government, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules to carry out the purposes of this Act.
(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provision, such rules may
provide for—
(a) the forms of registers of births and deaths required to be kept under this Act;
(b) the period within which and the form and the manner in which information should be given to
the registrar under section 8;
(c) the period within which and the manner in which births and deaths shall be notified under
sub-section (1) of section 10;
(d) the person from whom and the form in which a certificate as to cause of death shall be
obtained;
(e) the particulars of which extract may be given under section 12;
(f) the authority which may grant permission for registration of a birth or death under
sub-section (2) of section 13;
(g) the fees payable for registration made under section 13;
(h) the submission of reports by the Chief Registrar under sub-section (4) of section 4;
(i) the search of birth and death registers and the fees payable for such search and for the grant of
extracts from the registers;
(j) the forms in which and the intervals at which the returns and the statistical report under
section 19 shall be furnished and published;
(k) the custody, production and transfer of the registers and other records kept by Registrars;
(l) the correction of errors and the cancellation of entries in the register of births and deaths;
(m) any other matter which has to be, or may be, prescribed.
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[(3) Every rule made under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before the State
Legislature.]
31. Repeal and saving.—(1) Subject to the provisions of section 29, as from the coming into force of
this Act in any State or part thereof, so much of any law in force therein as relates to the matters covered
by this Act shall stand repealed in such State or part, as the case may be.
(2) Notwithstanding such repeal, anything done or any action taken (including any instruction or
direction issued, any regulation or rule or order made) under any such law shall, in so far as such thing or
action is not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, be deemed to have been done or taken under the
provisions aforesaid, as if they were in force when such thing was done or such action was taken, and
shall continue in force accordingly until superseded by anything done or any action taken under this Act.
32. Power to remove difficulty.—If any difficulty arises in giving effect in a State to the provisions
of this Act in their application to any area, the State Government may, with the approval of the Central
Government, by order make such provisions or give such directions not inconsistent with the provisions
of this Act as appears to the State Government to be necessary or expedient for removing the difficulty:
Provided that no order shall be made under this section in relation to any area in a State after the
expiration of two years from the date on which this Act comes into force in that area.