The Calcutta High Court, while directing the Municipality to issue a fresh birth certificate in the name of the child by incorporating the surname of the stepfather in place of the surname of the biological father observed that one cannot be hyper-technical while dealing with personal issues with hardly any public law element involved and with the change in circumstances, the entry in respect of the father of the minor child has to be taken as improper and liable to be rectified and the records are to be corrected.
Brief Facts:
The petitioner, mother of a minor child who was born out of her previous marriage filed the present petition seeking to replace the name of her erstwhile husband and surname of the child recorded in her child’s birth certificate and other documents by incorporating the surname and name of her present husband as the father of her minor child.
Contentions of the Petitioner:
The learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner submitted that the biological father of the child, in no uncertain terms, has given his consent to the prayers made by the petitioner and further both the parties to the erstwhile marriage have moved on in their respective lives. Neither the biological nor the stepfather has any objection if the above changes are recorded in the birth certificate of the child.
Contentions of the Respondent:
The learned counsel appearing on behalf of the respondent relied upon Section 15 of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 and upon the guidelines issued by the Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs dated December 29, 2014, which mention that once the name of the child is entered in the birth certificate, it cannot be changed.
Observations of the court:
The court noted that the child is presently remaining with the petitioner who is her mother and with the stepfather and is of very tender age and is yet to understand the difference or the concept of a biological father and a stepfather and has all along known and accepted the present husband of the petitioner as a father.
It was stated by the court that the birth certificate of an individual is a very important document in life. The same is evidence of one’s birth and lineage. It also acts as proof of one’s age, identity and citizenship. Furthermore, it was stated that the previous marriage of the petitioner stood legally dissolved and the child has been gracefully and unconditionally accepted by the present husband of the petitioner. Though the law relied upon by the Municipality imposes a bar to change of entries in the birth certificate it cannot be lost sight of the fact that the same is a very archaic Act. The court stated that law has to be dynamic and ought to evolve to tackle such issues and one cannot be hyper-technical while dealing with personal issues with hardly any public law element involved. With the change in circumstances, the entry in respect of the father of the minor child has to be taken as improper and liable to be rectified and the records are to be corrected. If the necessary alteration is not done, then the child and her parents may have to face several embarrassing situations in the future. Every individual has the right to live with dignity and honour.
It was further stated that there is a provision in the Act to correct or cancel an entry in the register if the same is found to be erroneous in form or subject. It is not that there is an absolute total bar to rectify errors. With the change in circumstances, the entry in respect of the father of the minor child has to be taken as improper and liable to be rectified and the records are to be corrected.
The decision of the Court:
The court directed the Municipality to issue a fresh birth certificate in the name of the child by incorporating the surname of the stepfather in place of the surname of the biological father.
Case Title: Arpita Chowdhury vs Nabadwip Municipality and Anr.
Coram: Hon’ble Justice Amrita Sinha
Case No.: WPA 88 of 2023
Advocate for the Petitioner: Mr. Jayanta Samanta, Ms. Karunamoyee Samanta, Mr. Rajdeep Adhikary
Advocate for the Respondent: Mr. Swapan Kumar Majumdar, Mr. Saptarshi Majumdar
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