The Gujarat High Court has upheld the 2023 amendment to the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, which authorizes Executive Magistrates to inquire into cases where the registration of a birth or death is delayed beyond one year. This change transfers the power from Judicial Magistrates to Executive Magistrates or District Magistrates.
The petition was filed challenging the legality of the amendment to Section 13(3) of the Act. Earlier, only a Judicial Magistrate First Class or a Presidency Magistrate could conduct such inquiries. The petitioner argued that the amendment violated Section 3(2)(a) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which reserves inquiries involving evaluation of evidence to Judicial Magistrates. It was contended that Executive Magistrates, under Section 3(2)(b) BNSS, are restricted to administrative or executive inquiries only.
Read Also:- Gujarat High Court Rejects Wife’s Plea for Conjugal Rights Citing Mental Cruelty and Public Humiliation
A Division Bench led by Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Pranav Trivedi dismissed the petition. The court carefully examined Sections 3 and 4 of the BNSS, 2023, and found no conflict between the new amendment and the BNSS provisions.
"The wisdom of the Legislature to confer powers of inquiry upon the Executive Magistrate cannot be questioned by us," the bench stated.
The court clarified that under the amended Section 13(3), the registration of a birth or death after one year can now be approved by a District Magistrate, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, or an Executive Magistrate authorized by the DM, after verifying the correctness of the information and upon payment of a prescribed fee.
Read Also:- Gujarat High Court Refers GST Compensation Cess Issue on Export Supplies to GST Council for Clarification
The court noted that the BNSS permits inquiries by Magistrates appointed under the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC), and its Section 14 aligns with Section 20(1) of CrPC. The judges emphasized that the amendment does not involve criminal liability or punitive actions and is administrative in nature, hence it fits within the Executive Magistrate’s jurisdiction.
"The provisions of sub-section (2)(a) of Section 3 cannot be pressed into service to challenge the amendment to Section 13(3)," the court noted.
Read Also:- Only Trial Courts Can Decide Travel Rights of Accused, Not Passport Authority: Gujarat High Court
The judgment further referred to Section 4 of BNSS, which requires all offences to be investigated, inquired into, and tried as per BNSS unless another law explicitly provides otherwise. Since the Registration of Births and Deaths Act governs a non-criminal process, the procedures align with the BNSS and do not conflict with judicial provisions.
The Gujarat High Court concluded that the amendment passed by the Legislature was valid and within legal bounds. The challenge was dismissed.
Case Title: Minaxi Chandulal Shah & Ors. vs Union of India
Case Number: SCA No. 3502 of 2025
