Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government (Births, Deaths, Marriages and Divorces Registration) Rules, 2017

TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE EXTRAORDINARY GAZETTE OF PAKISTAN PART-II GOVERNMENT OF PAKISTAN MINISTRY OF INTERIOR Islamabad, the 08 November, 2017

NOTIFICATION

S.R.C. (I)/2017. - The following draft of the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government (Births, Deaths, Marriages and Divorces Registration) Rules, 2017 which is proposed to be made in exercise of the power conferred by section 117 of the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Act, 2015 (X of 2015) is hereby published for the information of all persons likely to be affected thereby and notice is hereby given that objections and suggestions thereon, if any, received within three days from the date of this publication shall be taken into consideration.

1. Short title and commencement. - (1) These rules may be called the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government (Births, Deaths, Marriages and Divorces Registration) Rules, 2017. (2) These rules shall come into force at once.

2. Definitions. - (1) in these rules, unless there is something repugnant in the subject or context: (a) "Act" means the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Act, 2015 (X of 2015); (b) "Council" means the Union Council concerned; (c) "Corpse" means any dead human body, including the body of any stillborn child; (d) "DC" means the Deputy Commissioner of the Islamabad Capital Territory; (e) "Local Government" in this case means the concerned Local Government in the Islamabad Capital Territory; (f) "District Enquiry Committee" means the District Enquiry Committee constituted under these rules; (g) "Form" means a form appended to these rules; (h) "Immediate Cause of death" means the final disease or condition resulting in death; (i) "Informant" means a person providing information of birth, death, marriage or divorce to the Registrar; (j) "minor" means a person under 18 years of age; (k) "NADRA" means National Database and Registration Authority established by the Federal Government; (l) "occurrence" means the birth of a living child or death or marriage or divorce of any person; (m) "Persons responsible to give notice" means persons responsible under these rules to give notice of birth, death, marriage or divorce to the Registrar; (n) "Registers of occurrence" means the respective registers of birth, deaths, marriages and divorces used for recording of the respective occurrences; (o) "Registrar" means the Secretary of the concerned Union Council declared by the Chairman to act as Registrar of the Union Council under these rules; (p) "Secretary" means a secretary of Union Council concerned; (q) "Schedule" means a schedule appended to these rules, containing Forms A to F; (r) "stillborn" in relation to a child, means that it has had at least twenty-six weeks of intra-uterine existence and showed no sign of life after complete birth; "stillbirth", in relation to a child, has a corresponding meaning; (s) "Sign" or "Signature(s)" means signature together with a thumb impression, or a thumb impression mark only in a case where the person making the mark is unable to write his or her name; (t) "underlying cause of death" is defined as (a) the disease or injury which initiated the train of morbid events leading directly to death, or (b) the circumstances of the accident or violence which produced the fatal injury; (u) "Union" means the local area notified under Section 4 of the Act; and (v) "Usual Address" means the place where a person lives most days. (2) Words and expressions used herein but not defined in these rules shall have same meanings as are assigned to them in the Act.

3. Establishment of general registry office and appointment of Registrar. - (1) Each Union Council shall establish a registration office within the premises of the office of the Union Council, for the registration of births, deaths, marriages, and divorces occurring within the limits of its local area, in accordance with these rules. (2) The registers of births, deaths, marriages and divorces to be registered under these rules, in original together with other record and the certified copies of the certificates issued shall be made and kept in safe custody, in the registration office. (3) The Chairman concerned shall declare in writing the Secretary of the Union Council to act as a Registrar on permanent basis who shall be called the Registrar of births, deaths, marriages and divorces of the Union and shall act strictly in accordance with the Act, these rules, and any bye-laws made by the Council. (4) The Chairman shall report to the Metropolitan Corporation all appointments made by him under this section.

4. Maintenance of Registers. - (1) The Union Council shall maintain a - (a) birth register in Form-A for recording every birth occurring in the local area of the Union or elsewhere if the parents are usual residents of the local area of the Union; (b) death register in Form-B for recording every death occurring in the local area of the Union or elsewhere if the deceased was a usual resident of the local area of the Union; (c) marriage register in Form-C for recording every marriage that occurs in the local area of the Union; and (d) divorce register in Form-D for recording every divorce that occurs in the local area of the Union. (2) In case the birth, death, marriage or divorce of the usual residents of the Union occurs elsewhere the person authorized to give notice of registration shall obtain a certificate of that occurrence from the Union Council of that local area and shall submit the same at the time of registration. However, marriage shall only be registered at the place where it was actually solemnized, irrespective of the usual residence of the spouses but the notice of solemnization shall be forwarded to the Union Council of usual residence. (3) After registration of occurrence in the Union concerned the Registrar through the concerned Chairman, shall forward one certified copy of that registration certificate to the Union Council where the occurrence actually took place. Likewise the Union Council of the place of actual occurrence shall also be bound to forward the information and certificates to the Union Council where the occurrence should have actually registered. (4) The exchange of information and registration certificates between the two different Union Councils shall take place through the Secretaries, for the purposes of collecting the correct statistical data.

5. Persons responsible to report birth and particulars of the report. - (1) Any of the following persons in order of precedence shall report the birth, namely: - (a) the father or mother of the child, or, in their absence any other close relative of the child; (b) any person present at the birth; (c) any person occupying or having charge of any part of the premises, wherein the child was born and having knowledge of the child having been born in the premises; (d) any medical practitioner in attendance after the birth and having personal knowledge of the birth having occurred; (e) any person having custody of the child; and (f) in case of absence of any of the foregoing, any public official. (2) Every report of a birth required to be made under these rules shall contain the following particulars which shall be entered in a register to be kept for the purpose by the Registrar, namely: - (a) the date of birth; (b) the sex of the child; (c) the name of the father, mother and of the grandfather; (d) place of birth; (e) the occupation, caste, religion, nationality and residence of the father; (f) the name of the person making the report and the date of his report; and (g) the name of the child (if decided). (3) If the name of the child is not known when the report is made, the same shall be communicated within three months of the birth to the Registrar.

6. Persons responsible to give report of death and particulars of report. - (1) Any of the following persons in order of precedence shall report a death or stillbirth, namely: - (a) any relative of the deceased having knowledge of any of the particulars required to be registered concerning the death; (b) any person present at the time of the death; (c) any person occupying or having charge of the premises or any part of it, wherein the death occurred and having knowledge of the deceased having died in that premises; (d) any person in attendance during the last illness of the deceased; (e) any person who has seen the body of the deceased after death; (f) any person causing the disposal of the body in case of unidentified person or dead body found; and (g) in the absence of any of the foregoing any public official. (2) Every report of the occurrence of a death or stillbirth required to be made under these rules shall contain the following particulars which shall be entered in the register to be kept for the purpose by the Registrar, - (a) the date of death; (b) the name of the deceased; (c) the name of the father, or, if the deceased was a married woman, of the husband of the deceased; (d) the sex of the deceased; (e) the age of the deceased; (f) the religion of the deceased; (g) place of death; (h) the cause of death; and (i) the name of the person making the report and the date of his report.

7. Person authorized to give report of marriage. - (1) Any of the following persons in order of precedence shall report a marriage, namely: - (a) the Nikah Registrar; (b) the bridegroom himself; or (c) the father or mother of the bridegroom or the bride. (2) Every report of the occurrence required to be made under these rules shall contain the following particulars which shall be entered in the register to be kept for the purpose by the Registrar, - (a) the name or number of the local area of the Union as well as the District where the marriage was solemnized; (b) the name, parentage, age, sex, addresses, and current and previous marital status of the spouses; (c) computerized national identity card number of bride and bridegroom; (d) details of any conditions of the marriage mentioned in the marriage certificate, e.g., dower amount and its details etc: and (e) dates of solemnization of the marriage, and its registration with the Registrar.

8. Persons authorized to give report of divorce. - (1) Any of the following persons in order of precedence shall give the notice of a divorce, namely: - (a) the former spouses, or their parents duly authorized by them in writing; (b) the Union Council Chairman or Chairman of the Arbitration Council, in case of failure of reconciliation proceedings before Arbitration Council, and in any case at the time of effectiveness of Talaq and before issuance of certificate of effectiveness of Talaq to the parties; (c) decree holder in case of dissolution of marriage through court process. (2) Every report of the occurrence required to be made under these rules shall contain the following particulars which shall be entered in the register to be kept for the purpose by the Registrar, - (a) the name, parentage, address and national identity card numbers of the parties; (b) the date and place of marriage; (c) the children if any from the wedlock; (d) the date and place of pronouncement of divorce; (e) in case of dissolution of marriage through court, name of the Court, date of decree, with a copy of the judgment or decree; and (f) the date of effectiveness of divorce.

9. Stipulated period and manner of reporting. - (1) The report shall be made promptly and shall not be later than a period of thirty days after occurrence, in any case whatsoever - (a) in Form-A in case of living child; or (b) in Form-B in case of a death; or (c) in Form-C in case of a marriage (supported by attested copy of the Nikah Nama issued under the applicable law); or (d) in Form-D in case of a divorce. (2) The report of the relevant Form shall be made to the Registrar concerned, by a person authorized to report, by entering appearance in person. (3) Every reporting of a birth or death required by these rules, shall be made in writing. (4) The person reporting shall also sign the register.

10. Entry of occurrence to be signed by the person reporting. - (1) When an entry of an occurrence has been made by the Registrar, the person reporting the occurrence shall produce his original computerized national identity card and sign the entry in the register in the presence of the Registrar, who shall enter the number of the ID card next to his signatures besides keeping on the record of a photocopy of the original ID card. (2) Until the entry has been so signed the occurrence shall not be deemed to be registered under these rules.

11. Verification and Entry. - (1) On receipt of the report, the Registrar shall certify the correctness of the report and shall collect any particulars or information which ought to have been furnished by the reporter but was missing, and shall enter it in the relevant register. (2) All reports received under these rules shall be acknowledged by the Registrar there and then and shall be entered in the relevant register free of cost.

12. Duty of Registrar to register the occurrence of which notice is given. - The Registrar on receipt of report of occurrence as prescribed under these rules, shall, if the notice is given within the prescribed time and in the prescribed mode by a person authorized by these rules to report, forthwith make an entry of such occurrence in the proper register book:- Provided that if he has reason to believe the report to be in any respect false, he may refuse to register the occurrence until he receives a satisfactory report from a Committee constituted to verify the information by the Chairman of the concerned Union Council.

13. Preservation of Record. - The registers mentioned under these rules shall be preserved for a period of twenty five years at least.

14. Superintendence of Registrar by Chairman. - (1) The Chairman shall exercise a general superintendence over the Registrar, the Registration Office and its whole record. (2) The Chairman may by giving sufficient cause in writing replace the Registrar and, after getting the approval of the Chairman of an adjoining Union Council, declare the Secretary or Registrar of that adjoining Union Council to act as Registrar on additional charge basis until such time a new appointment of Registrar is made on permanent basis.

15. Office and attendance of Registrar. - Every Registrar shall attend the office for the purpose of registering births and deaths on such days and at such hours as the Chairman of the Union Council may direct, and shall cause to be placed in some conspicuous place on or near the outer door of his office his name, with the addition of Registrar of Births, Deaths, Marriages and Divorces for the local area and the days and hours of his attendance, for public convenience.

16. Absence of Registrar or vacancy in his office. - (1) When a Registrar is absent or when his office is temporarily vacant, any person whom the concerned Chairman appoints in this regard, to act as the Registrar during such absence, shall perform the duties of the Registrar until the Chairman fills the vacancy through regular appointment. In default of such appointment made by the Chairman, the Secretary of the Union Council concerned shall continue to act as Registrar. (2) The Chairman shall report to the Union Council concerned all appointments made by him under this Rule.

17. Register books to be supplied and preservation of records to be provided for. - The Union Council shall supply to the Registrar a sufficient number of register books of births, deaths, marriages, and divorces, and shall make suitable provisions for the preservation of the records connected with the registration of the same.

18. Grant of certificate of registration of birth, death, marriage and divorce. - (1) The Registrar on application for registering the occurrence, by the person reporting such occurrence and on payment by him of the fee, if any, shall grant a certificate signed by him, of having registered the occurrence. (2) The Registrar shall not charge any fee for issuance of first certificate of birth to be granted at the time of registration: however, for issuance of computerized certificate of birth by NADRA the prescribed fees may be charged.

19. Duty of Registrar to send certified copies of entries of occurrences in register books to the DC through Chairman. - The Registrar shall at the end of each month submit through the concerned Chairman the consolidated reports of registration of births and deaths on Form-E, and registration of marriages and divorces on Form-F, to the DC or to such officer, agency, or institution, e.g. NADRA etc., as the Government may direct from time to time for the purpose of collection of statistical data, or for any other purpose, or if required under any other law for the time being in force.

20. Searches and copies of entries in register books. - (1) Every Registrar shall on payment of the prescribed fees, at all reasonable times, allow inspection or searches to be made in the register and books kept by him and give a copy of any entry in the same after recording the fact in the original register as well as on the certificate of copy so issued, the name of the applicant, his computerized national identity card number and the purpose of obtaining such document. (2) Every copy of entry in a register book given under this rule shall be certified by the Registrar as copy of public record and shall be admissible in evidence for the purpose of establishing or proving the occurrence, to which the entry relates.

21. Exceptional provisions for registration of certain births and deaths. - Notwithstanding anything in these rules, the Government may issue directions though notification authorizing the Registrars to register occurrence of births, deaths, marriages or divorces occurring outside the local areas, on conditions and in circumstances to be specified therein.

22. Correction of entry in registers of occurrence. - (1) If before forwarding the entry of an occurrence to the Local Government it is proved to the satisfaction of a Registrar that any entry of an occurrence in any register is erroneous in form or substance, he may after obtaining the prior permission of the Chairman, and subject to these rules or any other laws or rules for the time being in force as may be made by the Government with respect to the conditions and circumstances on and in which errors may be corrected, correct the error by making an entry in the margin, without any alteration of the original entry, shall sign the marginal note, add thereto the date of the correction, and shall also obtain the counter signatures of the Chairman thereupon for confirmation. (2) If a certified copy of the entry has already been sent by the Local government to NADRA etc., no correction, alteration, amendment in the register relating to an entry of occurrence etc, shall be made unless a thorough enquiry is conducted under these rules by the District Enquiry Committee. (3) On an application to the Chairman by any concerned person desiring an alteration which pertains to an error of fact or substance in any of the registers of occurrence at any time, and on payment of the fee prescribed, - (a) a Chairman shall refer the matter to the DC, for enquiry through District Enquiry Committee; (b) the DC shall within one week from receipt of the reference appoint the District Enquiry Committee comprising District Health Officer and an Assistant Commissioner of Islamabad Capital Territory; (c) the District Enquiry Committee shall make technical assessment of the case, and if deemed necessary may also obtain field enquiry report from any officer of the rank not lower than Tehsildar; (d) the District Enquiry Committee, shall within one month of receipt of the reference from the DC make a definite recommendation to the Union Council Chairman; (e) the Chairman shall then direct the Registrar to act in accordance therewith making any corrections recommended, by noting the same in the margin; and (f) the Chairman and the Registrar shall sign and date the notes regarding new entries in the margin. (4) The Registrar shall thereafter, make and send a separate certified copy of the original erroneous entry and of the marginal correction therein to the Local Government or the concerned authorities, as the case may be.

23. Late entry of unrecorded occurrence. - (1) Anyone wishing a late entry to be made for unrecorded occurrence, shall make, at any time, an application to the Chairman concerned, and shall pay the fine for late entry as prescribed. (2) Except in case of late birth entry, - (a) if an application is filed within six months of occurrence, - (i) the Chairman may, if he deems necessary, conduct necessary certification, to be completed within one week of the receipt of application; (ii) the Chairman shall, not later than one week, direct the Registrar in writing with his specific recommendations and the details of verification process, if any followed by him, and the documentary evidence relied upon by him, to act in accordance therewith, and if the correction is found genuine, make entry of late occurrence in the respective register of occurrence; and (iii) the Registrar shall thereupon follow the same procedure as prescribed for normal new entries reported within time; and (b) if an application is filed after the lapse of six months of occurrence, - (i) the Chairman concerned shall refer the matter to the DC, for enquiry through District Enquiry Committee; (ii) the procedure to be followed thereafter shall be identical to that followed as per parts (b) to (f) of sub-rule (3) of rule 22. (3) In case of late birth entry, - (a) if an application is filed within six months of the occurrence, - (i) the Chairman on production of documentary evidence e.g., a certificate from hospital, lady health visitor, or a midwife, etc, shall direct the Registrar in writing with his specific recommendations to record entry of late occurrence of birth in the respective register of occurrence; and (ii) the Registrar shall thereupon follow the same procedure as prescribed for normal new entries reported within time; (b) if an application is filed after the lapse of six months but within five years of the occurrence, - (i) the concerned Chairman shall refer the matter to the concerned Tehsildar for local verification; (ii) the Tehsildar shall within one week from receipt of the reference, forward his verification report to the Chairman; (iii) the Chairman shall, direct the Registrar in writing with his specific recommendations accordingly, to act in accordance therewith, and if the correction is found genuine make entry of the late occurrence in the respective register of occurrence; and (iv) the Registrar shall thereupon follow the same procedure as prescribed for normal new entries reported within time; and (c) if an application is filed after the lapse of five years of occurrence, - (i) the Chairman shall refer the matter to the DC, for enquiry through District Enquiry Committee; (ii) the procedure to be followed thereafter shall be identical to that followed as per parts (b) to (e) of sub-rule (3) of Rule 22; and (iii) the Registrar shall thereupon follow the same procedure as prescribed for normal new entries reported within time.

24. Inspection and verification of the record maintained by the Registrar. - (1) The Government in the case of registers or records may appoint as many persons as it deems fit for inspection of such registers or records, who may enquire into the state, custody and authenticity of every such register or record and suggest remedial steps. (2) The Registrar shall fully cooperate with any such person and shall facilitate such inspection and variation.