Some Legal Provisions Are Like An Ass: Kerala High Court Directs Inclusion Of Biological Father’s Name In Birth Certificate Of IVF-Conceived Child
The Court observed that where both parents acknowledge a child and seek recognition of her paternity, the law cannot become a barrier to the child's fundamental right to identity.
Justice P.V Kunhikrishnan, Kerala High Court
The Kerala High Court has held that procedural limitations under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 cannot stand in the way of a child's fundamental right to identity under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. The Court directed authorities to add the biological father's name and correct the child's name in the birth register of a girl born through IVF to an unmarried mother, after both parents subsequently married and jointly sought the correction.
Citing Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist, where the character Mr. Bumble famously remarked that “law is an ass” two centuries ago, the High Court observed that it is indeed true, even today. The Court stressed that when rigid statutory procedures threaten a child's dignity and identity, constitutional courts must interpret the law with a human touch rather than allow technicalities to prevail.
The Bench was dealing with a petition filed by a couple whose first daughter was born in 2012 through IVF treatment using the sperm donated by the second petitioner, who was then the first petitioner's live-in partner. Since the mother was unmarried at the time of birth, the father's name was left blank in the birth certificate. Subsequently, the couple married in 2018 and had a second child, whose birth records correctly reflected both parents' names. The first child, however, continued to have a blank entry in the column relating to her father.
Justice P.V. Kunhikrishnan observed, “….Mr Bumble, a character in Charles Dickens’s novel OLIVER TWIST, said in a courtroom that ‘law is an ass’, of course, in connection with that story. The novel above by Charles Dickens was published in 1838, which means it is about 2 centuries old. Even now, some legal provisions in our country are like an ass. But in such situations, it is the duty of the constitutional court to interpret such laws with a human touch…”.
“The Registrar of Birth refused the same, not because the paternity is disputed, but because there are no provisions enabling him to do so. The question before this Court is ‘stark’. Can a technicality arising from an adult conflict arising at the time of birth of the child lead to denying a child the fundamental right to identity guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India? Can a Birth Register become a permanent scar on a citizen’s record, which is the very first public document in his life? A blank space in the birth register can wound deeper than words to the first child, especially when the second child’s father’s name is correctly shown. I considered the psychological trauma of a child born to an unwed mother, from the angle of the character ‘Karna’ in the ancient epic ‘Mahabharata’”., the Bench further observed.
Advocate Julia Priya Reshmy appeared for the petitioner and Vidya Kuriakose, Senior GP appeared for the respondent.
In the matter, though the Family Court had already recorded a settlement acknowledging the second petitioner as the biological father and permitting changes in the child's official records, the Panchayat refused to alter the birth register, citing the absence of statutory provisions enabling such a correction.
Allowing the writ petition, the Court observed that the dispute was not about paternity but about the child's dignity and identity. It noted that both parents unequivocally acknowledged the child and sought correction of the birth records. The Court emphasized that a blank entry in a birth certificate could inflict deep psychological trauma upon a child, particularly when her sibling's birth records correctly identify both parents.
In a strongly worded judgment, Justice Kunhikrishnan remarked that constitutional courts must interpret laws with a human touch when rigid procedures result in injustice. The Court observed that while the statute may not expressly provide a mechanism for such correction, the High Court's extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India can be invoked to protect a child's rights and ensure complete justice.
“It is true that there is no provision in the Act of 1969 to correct the name of the child or to add the father’s name to a child born to a single mother. But this Court can exercise its extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India in appropriate cases. This is an appropriate case in which the child wants her father’s name on the birth certificate, and the father and mother want to add the father’s name to the birth certificate. They also want to add the father's name along with the child's name. In such a situation, this Court should step in and redress the grievance of the petitioners”, the Bench said.
Setting aside the Panchayat's rejection order, the Court directed the authorities to enter the father's name, and change the child's name to add a middle name by making appropriate marginal entries in the birth register. A fresh birth certificate is to be issued within 30 days.
Kerala High Court, birth certificate correction, IVF child birth certificate, right to identity Article 21, father's name in birth certificate, single mother birth registration, Registration of Births and Deaths Act 1969, Justice P V Kunhikrishnan, child dignity and identity, biological father recognition, live-in relationship child, Family Court settlement, constitutional rights of children, birth register correction, Kerala HC judgment 2026.
Cause Title: X & Anr. v. State Of Kerala & Ors. (Neutral Citation: 2026:KER:37687)
Appearances:
Petitioner: Julia Priya Reshmy, T. Sajayan Jacob, Abhitha Khan, Advocates.
Respondent: Vidya Kuriakose, Sr GP, K.Shaj, SC.