Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde announced on Wednesday, June 10, that the Maharashtra government has directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to invalidate up to 19,734 birth certificates, which were found to have forged changes. These records will be cancelled at both the state health department and BMC levels.
According to the department, these changes were not made in accordance with the Registration of Births and Deaths Act. On June 9, the Director of Health Services asked the Mumbai district registrar and the executive health officer to restore the original birth records and reverse all changes made in the SAP system between 2024 and 2026.
The original birth records will remain in place. The revisions had earlier come under scrutiny after allegations that they were carried out improperly and could be misused. Tawde said the investigation into the FIRs registered in the case has not progressed significantly. She stated that the SIT has therefore been asked to provide an update within the next two days.
The state government has also directed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to submit a report within 48 hours on the progress of the investigation into the alleged fake birth certificate case. The report has been sought by the mayor and officials from the health department.
The government also reiterated that registrars can make corrections only within the limited powers granted under Section 15 of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act and Rule 11 of the Maharashtra Registration of Births and Deaths Rules, 2000.
Speaking about the scale of the issue to media, Tawde said identifying questionable birth registrations has been difficult. She noted that 19,734 is a large number and that many of the individuals linked to these records have lived in Mumbai for several years. Certificates with smaller discrepancies will be cancelled at the BMC level. Cases involving serious errors will be referred to the state government before any action is taken.
Four FIRs have been registered in connection with the matter. The cases have been filed at the Deonar, Shivaji Nagar, Mulund and Kurla police stations. The BMC has also terminated four officials from its health department for allegedly misusing the system.
Last month, a preliminary inquiry by the BMC health department found that 87,347 fake birth certificates had allegedly been issued. The inquiry claimed that these certificates were linked to Rohingya and Bangladeshi nationals. The findings pointed to large-scale manipulation of official records and misuse of government systems.
According to the inquiry, a significant number of fraudulent entries were made between 2024 and 2026 through the SAP system. Investigators found that Medical Health Officers were making changes to birth and death records through the older SAP-CPWM system instead of using the Civil Registration System (CRS) portal, which is the prescribed platform.
The inquiry stated that this practice violated guidelines issued by the Registrar General of India. After this, the Mumbai Police Crime Branch formed a Special Investigation Team to investigate the case. The investigation into the alleged fake birth certificate network is ongoing.