The Kerala High Court has directed authorities to include a father's name on his daughter's birth certificate, which had remained blank for more than ten years due to a misunderstanding between her parents at the time of her birth. The court emphasized that a blank space in a birth register cannot become a permanent wound on a child's identity.
Background of the Case
Justice P.V. Kunhikrishnan allowed the writ petition filed by Anju Krishna and Navaneeth P, instructing the District Registrar and Pallickal Grama Panchayat to amend the child's name and add the father's name to the birth certificate within 30 days.
The couple, who worked in Dubai, fell in love but could not marry initially due to opposition from the man's family. The woman decided to have a child through In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF), keeping the treatment secret from both families. The child, a girl, was born on November 14, 2012. However, due to a misunderstanding between the couple at that time, the father's name was left blank on the birth certificate.
The couple later resolved their differences and married on February 7, 2018. Their second child was born on January 14, 2020, and the father's name was correctly recorded on that child's birth certificate. However, the first child's certificate remained unchanged.
Legal Proceedings
The mother approached the family court in Kottayam, Kerala, seeking a declaration of paternity. The matter was resolved through mediation, and the family court issued a judgment in which the father admitted to being the biological father of the first child. Both parents agreed to have his name added to her birth certificate and all official documents. The child's name was also changed in the school register and Aadhaar card accordingly.
When the parents approached the Panchayat with the family court judgment to correct the birth certificate, the Panchayat refused, citing the absence of any provision in the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 to add a father's name after the birth was registered as a single parent.
Court's Observations
Drawing a reference to the character Karna from the Mahabharata, the court noted that in this case, unlike Karna, both parents want to declare paternity to the world, but the law stands in the way. The court also invoked Mr. Bumble from Charles Dickens's Oliver Twist, who famously declared in a courtroom that "law is an ass," observing that even now, some legal provisions in India are similarly rigid.
"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," Justice Kunhikrishnan observed. "But in such situations, it is the duty of the constitutional court to interpret such laws with a human touch."
The court acknowledged that there is no provision in the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 to add a father's name after birth is registered as a single parent. However, it further held that this court does not "sit to count commas, full-stops, or blanks in the Rules and statutes" when a genuine grievance is raised. "This court sits to ensure that the law does not become the last instrument of psychological cruelty to a child who was never at fault. The law is meant to record life, not to resist it," Justice Kunhikrishnan stated.
Verdict and Directions
Invoking its jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the court observed that "the issue is not one of paternity, it is of posterity." The court directed the authorities to change the child's name and add the father's name by making a marginal entry in the birth register without altering the original entry. A fresh birth certificate is to be issued within 30 days of receipt of the judgment.
