Case Note & Summary
The petitioners, Sanjib Das and Bina Das, are the parents of a child named Deep Das, who was born on 01.10.2008 at Vani Vilas Hospital. Upon application for entry in the register of births, a birth certificate was issued on 28.10.2008, which recorded the child's name as Deep Das, the mother's name as Beena Das, and the father's name as Sandeep Das. The petitioners noticed that their names were misspelled in the birth certificate: the first petitioner's name was entered as 'Sandeep Das' instead of 'Sanjib Das', and the second petitioner's name was entered as 'Beena Das' instead of 'Bina Das'. On 18.05.2018, the first petitioner made a representation to the Commissioner of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike (BBMP) seeking correction of the names. The Commissioner passed an order on 12.07.2018 rejecting the representation, stating that the Register of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 does not provide for correction of names of parents. Aggrieved, the petitioners filed a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking to quash the order and direct the respondents to rectify the register. The High Court observed that the rejection was erroneous because the Act does not prohibit correction of clerical errors or misspelled names. The court noted that the petitioners had made a representation and the authority had failed to consider it properly. The court allowed the writ petition, quashed the order dated 12.07.2018, and directed the respondents to rectify the register by entering the correct names of the petitioners as 'Sanjib Das' and 'Bina Das' within four weeks. The court held that the authority must consider the representation in accordance with law and not reject it on the ground of lack of provision.
Headnote
A) Constitutional Law - Writ Jurisdiction - Article 226 of the Constitution of India - Correction of Birth Register - Petitioners sought correction of misspelled names in the birth register of their child - The Commissioner of BBMP rejected the representation on the ground that the Register of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 does not provide for correction of names of parents - The High Court held that the rejection was erroneous as the Act does not prohibit correction of clerical errors - The Court directed the respondents to rectify the register by entering the correct names of the petitioners as 'Sanjib Das' and 'Bina Das' instead of 'Sandeep Das' and 'Beena Das' - Held that the authority must consider the representation in accordance with law and not reject it on the ground of lack of provision (Paras 1-5).
Issue of Consideration
Whether the High Court can direct correction of misspelled names in the birth register under Article 226 of the Constitution of India when the statutory authority fails to act on a representation.
Final Decision
The writ petition is allowed. The order dated 12.07.2018 passed by the first respondent is quashed. The respondents are directed to rectify the register of births by entering the name of the first petitioner as 'Sanjib Das' instead of 'Sandeep Das' and that of the second petitioner as 'Bina Das' instead of 'Beena Das' in registration No.11038 on 28.10.2008, within four weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order.
Law Points
- Correction of clerical errors in birth register
- Writ jurisdiction under Article 226
- Representation to statutory authority
- No statutory bar for correction of misspelled names
