In Bangladesh, the worst thing that can happen to someone is to have a mistake in their National Identity (NID) Card. Anyone who has been issued one with a mistake has probably figured out their purpose in life -- to spend hours, burn enough calories, and overcome multiple obstacles to fix it.
An erroneous NID card remains unnoticed until fixing it becomes necessary. The problem arises whenever there is a mismatch of information in one’s NID with their passport, driving license, or any documents of that sort.
In any occasion where someone has to produce valid documents to identify themselves, such discrepancy can become the cause of their headache. The NID gets prevalence over all other documents. If any inconsistency between the NID and the other documents arises, identification of that person becomes complicated. Even a simple correction can necessitate other documentary evidence which can be difficult to procure at times.
Last week, I was visited by a client who wanted my assistance in correcting her NID card. Her deceased husband’s name was wrongly printed which is why she was not able to apply for her passport. His name, Jamshed Ahmed (pseudonym), had been rewritten as Morshed Ahmed. Her marriage certificate and her husband’s NID card has the name Jamshed Ahmed. This error required a complete change.
Upon applying online for correction, she was asked for a long list of documents that include her SSC/HSC certificate, birth certificate, passport, marriage certificate, and an affidavit notarized by a magistrate to proceed with the application. She uploaded the other documents with ease from her home, but for the affidavit, she needs to travel to the magistrates’ court at Sadarghat from her home in Uttara.
The requirement of an affidavit notarized by a magistrate has been laid down in the Amendment of National Identity Card and Protected Data (Amendment Verification and Supply) Regulations, 2014. According to Rule 6 of the Regulation, in order to apply for a complete change in a name, one has to submit documents relevant and supportive of that change, amongst which includes an affidavit from the magistrate’s court.
One has to visit the court in person, stand in the witness box while the magistrate asks their name, and carefully goes through their documents. The magistrate cross checks the supporting documents that support the change. Once the verification is complete, the magistrate attests the affidavit with his sign and seal.
This verified affidavit can then be scanned and uploaded along with the other documents in the website. However, if required, the magistrate might send the application to the Special Branch of Police for further verification, which might take longer than usual. But on most occasions, the green signal is given by the magistrate instantly.
The process is simple right till all the documents can be produced as evidence. In my client’s case, in order to correct the name of her husband, she must produce a marriage certificate and his NID as an evidential requirement. But the problem arose when I was told that her husband is deceased and all his documents except his death certificate were either lost or damaged.
To cut the story short, the magistrate ordered a succession certificate to establish her connection with her husband. It will take more than a year to get one. In the meantime, she would not be able to apply for her passport.
The idea of correcting a name may sound easy, but in reality, it is far from that. The process has been made unnecessarily complicated due to a lack of logistics and appropriate infrastructure. While it is possible for mistakes to happen, there must be adequate systems to fix them. Although the website has a simple interface which allows a step by step process, the external requirements are what makes it daunting.
The National Identity Registration Wing (NIDW) is undoubtedly a classified body of the government which holds important data of the citizens. The data operators and every other person involved with it have a major role to play.
Since they handle such a sensitive department, they have a responsibility to discharge their duties efficiently at all times. Any negligence on their part would singlehandedly tarnish the image of the authority. Frequent complaints of mistakes in NID cards cast doubt on the efficiency of these data entry operators.
In every legal work, the NID card of a person plays a crucial role in establishing his/her existence. The card is now mandatory for all important tasks, including employment, land registration, passports, opening bank accounts, buying mobile SIM cards, electricity, water and gas connections, and for other facilities. This single document prevails over every other document that identifies a person and the information given on it will be followed if any conflict arises.
Hence it has to be flawless, and even if there are any flaws, there must be necessary logistic support that can easily fix them. One simple mistake can give rise to so many other unnecessary problems which the data operator wouldn’t have to face.
All they had was to do just one job, but they had to mess it up.
Barrister Aiman R Khan is Associate, Rahman Law Associates & Company.
