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‘Only Mother’s Name Enough In A Child’s Birth Certificate,’ Says Kerala HC In Historic Move

byDisha Banerjee
25th July 2022
2 minute read

The Kerala High Court recently held that only having the mother’s name on the birth certificate is enough and an individual has the right to mention only their mother’s name in significant documents.

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According to The Hindu, this landmark judgement came during a case hearing wherein a man filed a petition to remove his father’s name from the birth register that was maintained by the office of the Registrar of Birth and Deaths, Pathanamthitta municipality, and include his mother’s name in the certificate.

The mother of the petitioner conceived him when she was just a minor after she was impregnated by an “unidentified person”. Hence, the father’s name was recorded differently in various documents.

The court ruled that a child born from an unwed woman or a survivor of rape is as much a citizen of this country as any other person with complete fundamental rights of privacy, dignity, and liberty.

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“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 real brave ‘Karnas’ who was the real hero and fighter in Mahabharata. 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 court said.

The Kerala High Court also directed the government to bring out separate forms which do not contain fields requiring details of the father.

Several people online lauded this landmark move which is said to benefit single mothers.

What are your views regarding this judgement?

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