Silby Jacob vs The State Of Kerala
2022 Latest Caselaw 9839 Ker

                 IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
                                   PRESENT
                  THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE AMIT RAWAL
         WEDNESDAY, THE 31ST DAY OF AUGUST 2022 / 9TH BHADRA, 1944
                         WP(C) NO. 26321 OF 2022
PETITIONER:

              SILBY JACOB
              AGED 38 YEARS
              D/O P.M. YACOB @ JACOB, PULAKKUDY HOUSE,
              PRALAYAKKAD KARA, THURUTHY P.O,
              VENGOOR WEST VILLAGE,
              ERNAKULAM-683545.

              BY ADVS.
              K.S.ANEESH
              SHYAMDEEP S.SHENOY


RESPONDENTS:

     1        THE STATE OF KERALA
              REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY,
              DEPARTMENT OF LOCAL SELF GOVERNMENT,
              STATE SECRETARIAT, THIRUVANATHAPURAM-695001.

     2        THE REGISTRAR OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS (SECRETARY),
              MUDAKKUZHA GRAMA PANCHAYATH, MUDAKKUZHA,
              ERNAKULAM DISTRICT, PIN-683545.

              BY ADV R.RENJITH -R2




     THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON
31.08.2022, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
 WP(C) NO. 26321 OF 2022
                                            2


                                 JUDGMENT

Petitioner has approached this Court with the following

prayers:

(i) Call for entire records leading to Exhibit- P9 order and issue a writ in the nature of certiorari or any other appropriate writ and thereby set aside the Exhibit-P9 order issued by the 2nd respondent.

(ii) Issue a writ in the nature of mandamus or any other appropriate writ order or direction directing the 2nd respondent to consider the Ext.P8 application with in the time frame fixed by this Honourable Court.

(iii) Issue a writ in the nature of mandamus or any other appropriate writ order or direction directing the 2nd respondent to correct as well as add additional information in the Ext.P2 birth certificate as per the provisions of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act and as per the Rules of the Kerala Registration of Births and Deaths Rules 1999.

(iv) Grant any other appropriate relief, which is prayed by the petitioner during the course of hearing which this Honourable Court may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case."

2. This Petition is directed against the order dated

25.07.2022 Ext.P9 passed by the 2nd respondent - Mudakku

Grama Panchayath in exercise of the power of the Registrar WP(C) NO. 26321 OF 2022

whereby the application of the petitioner for correction of date

of birth from 29.06.1983 to 29.05.1984 has been rejected for

the reason stated therein.

3. Petitioner is a non-resident Indian working as a nurse

in Oman for the past few years. She got an opportunity to study

six weeks CAP course commencing from 29.08.2022 in New

Zealand. After the completion of the CAP course will get nursing

job provided by OCEANIA Health Care, New Zealand. Petitioner

is stated to have born on 29.05.1984 which fact is evident from

the school record and the passport. Since there was a

requirement to submit the birth certificate, applied for the same

and when received the certificate, it was stated to have been

registered in 1983 by reflecting the date of birth as 29.05.1983.

It is submitted that an application as per the provisions of

Section 15 and Rule 11 of the Registration of Births And Deaths

Act and Kerala Registration of Births and Deaths Rules framed

thereunder has been submitted, but the Registrar has rejected

the same.

4. Learned counsel for the respondents submits that it WP(C) NO. 26321 OF 2022

was the duty of the Registrar to correct the same and has the

power to do so. They would not be averse in holding an enquiry

and correct the date of birth.

5. I have heard the learned counsel for the parties and

appraised the paper book. The order impugned dated

25.07.2022 Ext.P9 reads thus:

"The birth of the 3rd daughter of the couple Sri.Jacob - Mary was registered in this office on 29.06.1983 as per the registration number 11/1983. It is impossible to correct the date of birth in the birth registration. In the Annexure A-1 application, it is stated that your date of birth was 29.05.1984 as per your SSLC book. In order to add your name in the birth certificate you have to obtain permission from the District Registrar since there is above one years difference in your date of birth as per the birth certificate and as per your school records. Further is hereby informed that in order to correct your parents name you have to produce sufficient documents."

6. It would be appropriate to extract Section 15 and

Rule 11 of the Act:

Section 15- Correction or cancellation of entry in the register of births and deaths.- If it is proved to the satisfaction of the Registrar that any entry of a birth or death in any register kept by him under this Act is erroneous WP(C) NO. 26321 OF 2022

in form or substance, or has been fraudulently or improperly made, he may, subject to such rules as may be made by the State Government with respect to the conditions on which and the circumstances in which such entries may corrected or cancelled, correct the error or cancel the entry by suitable entry in the margin, without any alteration of the original entry, and shall sign the marginal entry and add thereto the date of the correction or cancellation.

Rule 11- Correction or cancellation of entry in the register of births and deaths:- (1) If it is reported to the Registrar that a clerical or formal error has been made in the register or if such error is otherwise noticed by him the Registrar shall enquire into the matter and if he is satisfied that any such error has been made, he shall correct the error (by correcting or canceling the entry) as provided in Section 15 and shall send an extract of the entry showing the error and how it has been corrected to the State Government or the officer specified by it in this behalf. (2)If any person asserts that any entry in the register of births and deaths is erroneous in substances, the Registrar may correct the entry in the manner prescribed under section 15 upon production by that person a declaration setting forth the nature of the error and true facts of the case made by two credible persons having knowledge of the facts of the case.

(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-rule (1) and sub-rule (2) the Registrar shall make report of any correction of the kind referred to therein giving necessary details to the State Government or the officer specified in this behalf.

WP(C) NO. 26321 OF 2022

(4) If it is proved to the satisfaction of the Registrar that any entry in the register of births and deaths has been fraudulently or improperly made, he shall make a report giving necessary details to the officer authorized by the Chief Registrar by general or special order in this behalf under Section 25 and on hearing from him take necessary action in the matter.

(5) in every case in which an entry is corrected or cancelled under this rule, intimation thereof should be sent to the permanent address of the person who has given information under section 8 or section 9

7. On joint reading of the aforementioned, if any such

application is made for correction or cancellation of entry in the

records of Registrar, the Registrar is required to hold an

enquiry. It is the conceded position on record that the officer

who passed the order would also exercise of powers of the

Registrar. The application should not have been dismissed in the

manner but should have been decided strictly as per the

provisions prescribed therein.

Accordingly, the impugned order Ext.P9 is quashed writ

petition is allowed. The respondent No.2 is directed to correct

the date of birth taking the evidence of the petitioner in WP(C) NO. 26321 OF 2022

accordance with law ie., the provisions referred to above. Let

this exercise be undertaken within a period of two months from

the date of receipt of copy of this judgment.

Sd/-

AMIT RAWAL JUDGE nak WP(C) NO. 26321 OF 2022

APPENDIX OF WP(C) 26321/2022

PETITIONER EXHIBITS

Exhibit P1 THE TRUE COPY OF THE OFFER LETTER DATED 04.07.2022.

Exhibit P2 THE TRUE COPY OF THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE DATED 21.05.2022 ISSUED BY THE 2ND RESPONDENT .

Exhibit P3 THE TRUE COPY OF THE SSLC CERTIFICATE DATED 14.04.1999.

Exhibit P4 THE TRUE COPY OF THE PASSPORT OF THE PETITIONER DATED 31.03.2017.

Exhibit P5 THE TRUE COPY OF THE AADHAR CARD OF THE PETITIONER DATED 14.01.2016.

Exhibit P6 THE TRUE COPY OF THE MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE OF THE PETITIONER DATED 04.07.2014.

Exhibit P7 THE TRUE COPY OF ONE AND SAME CERTIFICATE DATED 20.07.2022 ISSUED BY THE VENGOOR WEST VILLAGE OFFICER.

Exhibit P8 THE TRUE COPY OF THE APPLICATION DATED 21.07.2022 FOR CORRECTING THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE OF THE PETITIONER AND SUPPORTING AFFIDAVITS SUBMITTED BEFORE THE 2ND RESPONDENT.

Exhibit P9 THE TRUE COPY OF ORDER DATED 25.07.2022 ISSUED BY THE 2ND RESPONDENT.