Unusually ‘high’ birth certificates issued before SIR; Bengal govt orders scrutiny

The West Bengal government detected an abnormally high number of birth certificates issued in 2025 before the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll for the 2026 assembly elections.

Police conducted searches at local bodies across West Bengal, including the Kolkata Municipal Corporation headquarters, and seized all registers related to birth and death certificates.

Chief secretary Manoj Kumar Agarwal called the scrutiny a purification exercise and stated that genuine certificate holders have nothing to worry about.

Elected representatives in civic bodies and panchayats will no longer have the powers to issue birth and death certificates; only designated government officials will be authorised.

The data will be scrutinised over three to four months to identify fake certificates, and action will be taken against those who procured certificates using fake documents.