Awareness on death certificates missing

People often have to end up in court to prove that their loved ones have actually passed away

LAHORE:

A general lack of awareness about the importance of death certificates means that many do not know that they need to register the demise of their loved ones and thus end up in courts to pursue cumbersome litigation.

Despite the provincial government’s claims of how easy the process of acquiring a death certificate is, it has done precious little to make residents of Punjab aware about the importance of registering a death.

Resultantly, the inhabitants of the most populated province in the country often find out that they require a death certificate of a loved one when they go for menial tasks such as renewing their own identity cards or transfering property.

“My father passed away in 2012 and I only became aware about the necessity of registering his death with the Union Council, when an uncle of mine illegally transferred our land in his name,” informed an annoyed Abdul Rehman. “So now for the past 3 months I have been running to the courts to acquire a death certificate.” When asked as to why he had to go to court for a simple document, Rehman said that his family submitted an application to the concerned the Union Council for his father’s death certificate but the secretary of the union council informed them that acquiring a death certificate two months after the demise of an individual requires the court’s approval.

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“Hence, we ended up in the court of the local magistrate, who has asked us for evidence of my father’s death such as registration in graveyard and witness testimonies of two people not related to us in any way,” explained Rehman. Abdullah Malik, a lawyer based in Lahore, is familiar with the plight of people like Rehman. “A death certificate may seem like a trivial document but it has a mammoth importance attached to it. People only realise that they did not register the death of a family member once they go to perform tasks such as claiming their inheritance, withdrawing money from the bank account of a deceased person, or transferring assets,” said Malik.

“The document is also important because it protects the legal heirs of an individual from fraud. Therefore, the government should do more to promote the importance of registering a death in a timely fashion and acquiring a death certificate,” the lawyer added. Haji Muhammad Iqbal, the Secretary of a Union Council in Lahore, agrees with Malik. “The process is relatively easy, so it is quite confusing why people put it off and consequently have to go to courts,” remarked Iqbal.

When asked to explain the process, Iqbal stated: “The death certificate form can be obtained from a union council or the internet. The relatives of the deceased then fill the form, attach with it the statement of the person who performed the funeral, and also attach two witnesses. The form is then submitted to the Union Council and a death certificate can then be obtained by paying the Rs 200 fee.”

Published in The Express Tribune, November 12^th, 2023.