The Government of India, circulated a letter to all Chief Registrar of Births and Deaths in the country directing that the name of the single parent will be written in the birth record, and the name of the other parent must be left blank if such requests are made. This letter was issued in the light of the judgment of the Apex Court in ABC v. State (NCT of Delhi) reported as [2015 (10) SCC 1], wherein it was directed that, “if a single parent/unwed mother applies for the issuance of a Birth Certificate for a child born from her womb, the Authorities concerned may only require her to furnish an affidavit to this effect, and must thereupon issue the Birth Certificate, unless there is a Court direction to the contrary.”
As per Section 15 of The Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, 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 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 be 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.
As per Rule 11(2) (State of Kerala), if any person asserts that any entry in the register of births and deaths is erroneous in substance, 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. It is also stated that notwithstanding anything contained in sub-rule (1) and sub-rule (2) of Rule 11, the Registrar shall make a report of any correction of the kind referred to therein, giving necessary details to the State Government or the officer specified in this behalf.
Therefore, on a combined reading of Section 15 of the Act 1969 and Rule 11 of the Rules 1999, it is clear that a correction of an entry in the Register of Births and Deaths is possible in certain circumstances mentioned in it.
The Hon’ble Justice observed and directed that “it is the right of a person to include his mother's name alone in the birth certificate, identity certificates, and other documents. As I observed earlier, there are children of rape victims and children of unwed mothers in this country. Their right to privacy, dignity, and liberty cannot be curtailed by any authority. The mental agony of such a person is to be imagined by every citizen of this country while intruding into their privacy. In some cases, it will be a deliberate act and in other cases, it may be by mistake. But the State should protect citizens of all such kinds as equal to other citizens without disclosing their identity and privacy. Otherwise, they will face unimaginable mental agonies.”
Further, it was observed that “the mental agony faced by a person, who does not know their parents is picturized by the character of “Karna” in the ancient epic “Maharabharatha”. “Karna" was not aware of his parents till his mother "Kunthi Devi" told him about the truth. The mental agony and insult faced by "Karna" is picturized way back in the ancient time itself by "Vedavyasa" in "Mahabharatha". In tune with the above story, Mali Madhavan Nair wrote a story (Aattakadha) in "Kathakali" which is popularly known as "Karnashapadham". The mental agony and insult faced by "Karna" is picturized in a "Padham" (verse) of "Karnashapadham". The same is extracted hereunder:
“Why doubts and indecision are going through my heart!
Even though I am the King of Angarajya
I do not know where I was born!
Does anybody know where I was born
and what is the sect?
XXXX xxxx xxxx xxxx
Oh my God! Who are my parents?
Will I be able to see them,
or is it my fate to die before meeting them!””
The Hon’ble Justice concluded by saying that “we want a society with no such characters like "Karna," who curses his life because of the insult he faced for not knowing the whereabouts of his parents. We want the real brave "Karnas' who was the real hero and fighter in "Mahabharatha". Our Constitution and the constitutional Courts will protect all of them and the new age “Karnas” can live like any other citizen with dignity and pride.”
The Hon’ble Justice directed Respondent No. 1 to expunge and remove the name of Petitioner-son from the Birth Register maintained at his office regarding the Petitioner-son and issue a certificate showing the name of the mother only as a single parent if such a request was made by the petitioners.
The Hon’ble Justice referred to a catena of judgments including-
Suchita Srivastava and Another v. Chandigarh Administration [AIR 2010 SC 235] (delivered by the Apex Court).
“There is no doubt that a woman's right to make reproductive choices is also a dimension of "personal liberty" as understood under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. It is important to recognize that reproductive choices can be exercised to procreate as well as to abstain from procreating. The crucial consideration is that a woman's right to privacy, dignity, and bodily integrity should be respected."
Devika Biswas v. Union of India and Others [AIR 2016 SC 4405] (delivered by the Apex Court).
“This Court recognized reproductive rights as an aspect of personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution in Suchita Srivastava v. Chandigarh Administration. The freedom to exercise these reproductive rights would include the right to make a choice regarding sterilization on the basis of informed consent and free from any form of coercion”
K.S. Puttuswamy v. Union of India [2017 (4) KLT 1] (delivered by the Apex Court).
“To live is to live with dignity. The draftsmen of the Constitution defined their vision of the society in which constitutional values would be attained by emphasizing, among other freedoms, liberty and dignity. So fundamental is the dignity that it permeates the core of the rights guaranteed to the individual by Part III. Dignity is the core that unites the fundamental rights because the fundamental rights seek to achieve for each individual the dignity of existence. Privacy with its attendant values assures dignity to the individual and it is only when life can be enjoyed with dignity can liberty be of true substance. Privacy ensures the fulfillment of dignity and is a core value which the protection of life and liberty is intended to achieve.”
Shalu Nigam and Another v. Regional Passport Officer and Another [2016 KHC 3587] (delivered by Delhi High Court).
“The Supreme Court in ABC Vs. State (NCT of Delhi), AIR 2015 SC 2569 has held that it is not imperative for an unwed mother to specifically notify the putative father of the child whom she has given birth to of her petition for appointment as the guardian of her child.”
Mathumitha Ramesh v. Chief Health Officer Tiruchirapalli and Others [2018 KHC 4410] (delivered by Madras High Court).
“In the light of these statements made in the affidavit and also taking cognizance of the fact that the identity of the semen donor cannot be revealed, it follows that the authorities cannot insist on disclosure of the name of the father of the child. Accordingly, an interim order came to be passed by this Court on 24.04.2018 directing the first respondent to remove the name of Mr.Manish Madanpal Meena from the birth certificate of the petitioner's daughter namely, Tavishi Perara born on 23.04.2017, and the matter is directed to be listed today for reporting compliance. Today, when the matter came up for hearing, the learned counsel for the fourth respondent submitted that pursuant to the directions of this Court dated 24.04.2018, the birth certificate of the petitioner's daughter namely, Tavishi Perara born on 23.04.2017 at Cethat Hospital, Trichy has been rectified in their register and a certificate has also been issued in which the name of the father of the child has been left blank and the petitioner's name has been shown as the mother of Tavishi Perara.”
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