Shahna Anvar vs Registrar Of Births And Deaths Corporation Of Thrissur

The petitioner is the mother of Nimisha Anvar, who was born on 30.01.2006 at Mother Hospital, Ayyanthole. In the writ petition it is the case of the

petitioner that her name in the Birth Certificate issued to her daughter, a copy of which is produced as Ext.P1 in the writ petition, is shown as

'Shahana Anwar' instead of 'Shahna Anvar'. It is submitted on behalf of the petitioner that while she was originally of Christian faith she married a

Muslim, and thereafter embraced Islamic religion on 01.03.2020 and changed her name to 'Shahna Anvar' after publishing the same in a notification

dated 14.07.2020 in the Kerala Gazette dated 13.10.2020. The Adhar Card of the petitioner also shows her name as 'Shahna Anvar'. It would appear

that in the Birth Certificate issued to her daughter, her name was mistakenly shown as 'Shahana Anwar' instead of 'Shahna Anvar'. It is for the

purposes of correcting the said error in the Birth Certificate that the petitioner approached the respondent.

The respondent, however, expressed his inability to consider the request for change of the entries in the Birth Register, inter alia, citing the

Government Circular dated 10.05.2017, which rather than enabling the respondent to effect a correction of the name in the Birth Certificate only

permits them to show the alleged correct name as an alternate name of the person concerned. Even the said correction can be permitted only if there

is a Gazette notification to support the alternate name. It is further submitted that the circular applies only in circumstances where there has been a

change in the name of the parent by way of Gazette publication after the birth of the child and the issuance of a Birth Certificate originally.

I have heard the learned counsel for the petitioner as also the learned Standing Counsel for the respondent Municipality.

On a consideration of the facts and circumstances of the case and the submissions made across the Bar, I am of the view that inasmuch as the

petitioner has effected a change in name through a Gazette notification and the correction in her name in the Birth Certificate of her daughter is only

to the limited extent of correcting the spelling in the name from 'Shahana Anwar' to 'Shahna Anvar' for the purposes of ensuring a uniformity in the

various identity documents such as the Birth Certificate of the daughter as also the Adhar Card obtained by the petitioner, the ends of justice would be

met by directing the respondent Municipality to issue a corrected Birth Certificate to the petitioner's daughter in which the mother's name is corrected

as “Shahna Anvarâ€. The respondent shall do the needful and issue a corrected Birth Certificate within three weeks from the date of receipt of a

copy of this judgment. The petitioner shall produce a copy of this judgment together with a copy of the writ petition before the respondent Municipality

for further action.