Many Keralites Don't Display Surnames Because They Are Indicative Of Caste Status: Kerala HC Directs CBSE To Consider Representation Regarding Application Forms

The Bench of Justice N. Nagaresh was hearing the plea filed by the father of a student undergoing education in a school affiliated to CBSE, objecting to the instructions of the CBSE, requiring Schools to ensure that the expanded name of the student/ mother/father/guardian should be given and no abbreviations should be used.

The case of the Petitioner

As per the birth certificate, the name of Petitioner's Son's name is Tarun A and so his sole argument was that in order to comply with the directions issued by the CBSE, the petitioner may have to correct the name of his son in the birth register which is a cumbersome and time-consuming process.

Earlier, the petitioner submitted a representation to respondents 1 and 2 explaining his difficulty and suggesting that the CBSE should provide an additional column showing the expansion of the initials of the student/father/mother/guardian, in the same way names are provided in passports and school leaving certificates.

It was under such circumstances that the petitioner filed the instant writ petition

CBSE's stand

CBSE submitted before the Court that the instructions issued by it are only advisory in nature and that the students have to check that their data is similar in all the documents like Date of Birth certificate, school records, Aadhaar, Passport, etc.

It was also submitted that they should anticipate the requirement of surname when visiting abroad since the visiting country may insist for disclosure of name as well as surname.

Court's Observations

The Court in its order noted that in the state of Kerala, members of some of the communities in Kerala traditionally have no surnames.

Further, the Court noted,

"A good section of citizens having surnames, do not state or display surnames because surnames mostly are indicative of caste status. Keralites use abbreviations along with their names, which need not necessarily be the abbreviations of their surname. Sometimes the abbreviations are indicative of one's father's name, sometimes of mother's name. Many a time, the abbreviations are indicative of their family name."

The Court also remarked,

"As the abbreviations along with names are not definite indicatives of surname/father's name/mother's name/ family name, the abbreviations without its expansions are used as integral part of their names. In short, the expansion of abbreviations need not be their surnames."

The Court also noted that due to lack of options in some forms required to be filled for official purposes, citizens in Kerala are "forced to give the expansion of abbreviations attached to their names in the 'surname' column, which may further cause complications in their official transactions."

Since the Standing Counsel for CBSE stated that the instructions of the CBSE in this regard were "only advisory in nature", the Court did not deem it necessary to pass any orders in respect of the name of the petitioner's son.

However, the Court said,

Lastly, the Court directed CBSE to consider the grievance raised in representation of Petitioner "while formatting their registration forms next time".

Case title – Harish P.A. v. Secretary, CBSE and Anr. [WP(C).No.21086/2020(I)]

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