The Karnataka High Court took note of the absence of provisions regarding change of name which is already registered in the Register of Births and issued a procedure regarding the same to be followed by the Authorities until appropriate provisions are made under the Rules by the State in this regard.

The Petitioner had approached the High Court challenging the endorsement issued by the Registrar of Births refusing the request of the Petitioner to change his name in the Birth Certificate.

The Single Bench of Justice N S Sanjay Gowda said, “There is admittedly no provision under the Act or the Rules which provide for change of name which is already registered. This is therefore an obvious anomaly which would create unnecessary hardship to the parents or to the child in case they desire to have the name changed.”

Advocate Sinchana M. represented the Petitioner while Advocate K.B. Prasad Hegde represented the Respondent.

Factual Background

It was the case of the petitioner that his parents had requested the Registrar of Births and Deaths to enter his name as Adhrith Bhat, but subsequently, they were informed that his name was astrologically inappropriate, and hence they made a request to change his name as Shrijith Bhat. However, the Registrar of Births refused the said request on the ground that there is no provision under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969.

Reasoning

On a perusal of the provisions of the Act, the Bench explained that whenever the birth of a child is registered without a name, the parent or guardian of the child is required to give information within the prescribed time regarding the name of the child to the Registrar either orally or in writing and the Registrar thereafter is required to enter such name in the Register and initial and date the entry.

It was noticed by the Court that the Registrar of Births and Deaths had issued an endorsement refusing to entertain the claim stating that no corrections could be made in the original Register in view of Section 15 of the Act and Rules 11(1) and (7) of the Karnataka Registration of Births and Deaths Rules, 1999 which relates to the Correction or Cancellation of an entry in the Register of Births and Deaths.

As per Section 15, only if the entry in the register is found to be erroneous and if it is proved to the satisfaction of the Registrar that there is an error, the same could be corrected. The Bench affirmed the Registrar’s reliance on Section 15 of the Act as it was not the case of the parents of the petitioner that there was an error in the entry of the petitioner’s name in the register.

It was also clarified by the Bench that under the Rules, if no name has been furnished at the time of registration of the birth, the parent can within an outer limit of 15 years from the date of registration furnish the name of the child and ensure that it had been entered in the Birth Certificate. However, in the instant case, the petitioner’s father had given his son a new name and therefore, the entry in the Birth Register was also to be modified. The High Court elucidated the procedure regarding the change of name and allowed the Petition. Quashing the impugned endorsement, the Bench directed the respondent authority to change the name of the petitioner in the Register of Births.

Procedure Issued By High Court

Noting the absence of provision under the Act or the Rules regarding change of name which is already registered, the Bench put forth the following procedure:

  • The parents have to be called upon to give a sworn affidavit to the effect that they have changed the name of the child on their own accord and the entries in the birth register would be required to be changed accordingly.
  • On such a request being given, the authorities should verify the identity of the parents and proceed to incorporate the changed name in the Register of Births.
  • The authorities should make a remark in the register stating that the name of the child had been changed subsequently pursuant to a request made by the parents. The register would therefore have an entry regarding the name which was originally entered and also a name which was entered subsequently on their request.
  • In fact, even in respect of an adult who seeks for a change of name, the same procedure can be adopted. Since the original name would also be contained in the register and also the new name, the possibility of this document being misused for an ulterior purpose can easily be prevented.

The Bench further clarified that in case of deaths, the question of changing the name would not arise and hence, these directions would be inapplicable.

“Thus, until the appropriate provisions are made under the Rules by the State in this regard, the concerned authorities are directed to follow the aforementioned procedures and permit the change of name in the Register of Births and Deaths”, it concluded.

Cause Title: Master Adhrith Bhat v. The Registrar of Births and Deaths (Neutral Citation: 2025:KHC:5505)

Appearance:

Petitioner: Advocate Sinchana M.

Respondent: Advocate K.B. Prasad Hegde

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Karnataka High CourtJustice NS Sanjay Gowdabirth certificate

Tulip Kanth

Assistant Editor

Tulip Kanth is an Assistant Editor at Verdictum having over 5 years of experience in the field of legal journalism and editing. She extensively covers judgments of the Supreme Court, High Courts as well as Tribunals. She has previously worked with a legal publishing website where she oversaw the work of other editors and has also created updates on notifications of different Government Ministries. She holds an English Honours Degree from SGTB Khalsa College, Delhi University and has completed her LLB course with specialisation in Corporate Law from Amity University.