It's Time To Ask: Do We Need The Affidavit Anymore?, Pg11

Key Highlights:

• The article questions the continued necessity of affidavits, a practice established in India by Act XIV of 1848, which allowed sworn statements to be treated as if made in court without physical appearance.
• Affidavits are routinely used for various declarations like caste, income, and residence, but the swearing process by a notary or magistrate does not verify the truth of the assertion.
• The process of obtaining an affidavit involves significant time and cost, especially for economically disadvantaged individuals seeking government services or welfare benefits.
• The article advocates for replacing affidavits with authenticated self-declarations that carry direct legal responsibility for falsehood, citing international examples from the US and Ireland.
• The Indian government has promoted self-certification since 2014 to simplify processes and reduce the need for affidavits and attestations.

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Detailed Insights:

• The original purpose of affidavits was to save travel, but the current process often necessitates multiple journeys, creating an additional burden on citizens.
• The core issue is that an affidavit establishes the maker's belief in its truth under oath, not the actual veracity of the underlying fact, which often still requires separate verification.
• The Code of Civil Procedure and Supreme Court Rules govern affidavits in India, which are extensively used in civil and criminal proceedings.
• In 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi encouraged minimum use of affidavits and a shift to self-certification across Union Ministries and State Governments.
• States like Delhi, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Goa have implemented measures to replace affidavits with self-declarations for many public services.
• The Company Law Committee in 2022 also recommended replacing affidavits with self-declarations to promote ease of doing business, noting that punishments for false evidence are similar.
• Aadhaar-based authentication is proposed as a means to establish identity for electronically authenticated statements of truth, which are legally recognized under the Information Technology Act, 2000.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Affidavit: A written sworn declaration of fact made voluntarily by an individual under an affirmation or oath administered by a person approved by law.
• Self-declaration: A formal written statement where an individual asserts facts to be true, without requiring an oath or attestation by a third party.
• Perjury: The act of deliberately making materially false or misleading statements while under oath or affirmation, punishable under the Indian Penal Code.
• Aadhaar-based authentication: A process using an individual's Aadhaar number and biometric or OTP verification to confirm identity for electronic transactions and signatures.