Calcutta High Court Allows Rectification Of Child's Birth Certificate To Replace Biological Father's Surname With Step-Father's Surname

The Calcutta High Court has recently allowed a plea moved by the mother of a minor child to replace the biological father's surname in the child's birth certificate with the name of the step-father.

It was submitted that the child was born from her first marriage and that after the dissolution of that marriage, she remarried and moved out of the marital house to live with her present husband, who had accepted the child, and whom the child had known as his father.

In directing the Municipal Corporation to re-issue the child's birth certificate, a single bench of Justice Amrita Sinha held:

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 contended that the petitioner intended to replace her erstwhile husband's name with her present husband's name and that neither the biological father nor the stepfather had any objections to the changes proposed in the child's birth certificate. 

It was contended that the municipality was not permitting the same. The Municipality relied on 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, which mention that once the name of the child is entered in the birth certificate, it cannot be changed.  

Upon hearing the parties, the Court noted that the child was presently residing with the mother and stepfather.

It observed that the child had all along accepted the stepfather as his father, and did not understand the difference between a biological father and a stepfather due to his tender age.

Court noted that a birth certificate was a very important document in an individual's life, and that various uncomfortable questions may arise in the child's mind when they became mature and saw that the name of a different person was recorded as their father. 

It observed that the previous marriage of the petitioner stood dissolved and that the present husband had accepted both her and her child. 

Observing that the law relied upon by the municipality was archaic, the court said that such scenarios at that point in time were not anticipated, and its stringent provisions are only a testament to the importance of the birth certificate in an individual's life.

There is a provision in the Act to correct or cancel entry in the register if the same is found to be erroneous in form or subject. It is not that there is 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 Court observed.

Accordingly, it 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.

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Cal) 63