12Registration

(1) The Central Government shall, by general order, direct qualified persons who are required to be registered under this Act,--

(a) to furnish at such place and time, in such manner and to such authority or person as may be specified therein, such particulars about themselves as the order may require; and

(b) to make at such place, in such manner and to such authority or person as may be specified in the order, an application to be registered under this Act.

(2) The order made under sub-section (1) may make different provisions in relation to different classes of qualified persons subject to registration and may provide for exempting from any requirements of the order of any class of qualified persons with respect to whom the Central Government is satisfied that particulars sufficient for the purposes of this Act can be ascertained otherwise than by virtue of those requirements.

(3) If any qualified person fails to comply with any requirement of the order made under sub-section (1), he shall be liable to be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both.

(4) The Central Government shall ensure--

(a) that upon an application duly made for registration under this Act, the name and address of the applicant together with the particulars of the matters with respect to which information was given by the applicant in pursuance of the order made under sub-section (1) are entered in a register kept for the purposes of this Act, to be known as the "National Service Register"; and

(b) that upon the applicant being registered, a certificate of registration is issued to the applicant in the prescribed form.

(5) The information contained in the National Service Register shall not be used for any purpose other than the purposes of this Act:

Provided that nothing in this sub-section shall preclude the Central Government from disclosing, for statistical purposes, any information contained in the National Service Register.

(6) The Central Government may cause registration to be made of, and a certificate of registration to be issued to, any qualified person of a class exempted from any of the requirements of sub-section (1) as if that person had duly applied to be registered under this Act.

(7) (a) If any qualified person subject to registration under this Act communicates to the Central Government in the prescribed manner, that he has a preference for the Army, Air Force or Naval Service, that fact shall be recorded in the National Service Register.

(b) If a qualified person belonging to a class which is exempted from registration under this Act has a preference for the Army, Air Force or Naval Service, he shall intimate such preference to the Central Government in such manner as that Government may specify and, on receipt of such intimation, the Central Government shall cause such preference to be recorded in the National Service Register.

(8) (a) If any change occurs in the name or address of any qualified person while such person remains registered under this Act, or if any such person acquires any additional academic or professional qualification or distinction, he shall forthwith communicate the change of his name or address, or, as the case may be, the acquisition by him of additional academic or professional qualification or distinction to the Central Government in the prescribed manner and at the same time return to the Central Government, for correction, any certificate of registration held by him and if he fails to communicate the change of his name or address, or, as the case may be, the acquisition by him of the additional academic or professional qualification or distinction, he shall be liable to be punished with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees.

(b) Upon the receipt of a communication of the change of name or address of any qualified person registered under this Act or of acquisition by him of additional academic or professional qualification or distinction, the Central Government shall cause the necessary corrections to be made in the entries in the National Service Register and shall either cause the certificate to be corrected and returned to such person or cause a fresh certificate to be issued to him.

(9) The Central Government may, by rules made under this Act, provide for the issue, in specified circumstances, of fresh certificates of registration in place of certificates which have been lost, destroyed or defaced.