AA v State of Kerala and Ors,2025

AA v State of Kerala and Ors,2025 (WP(C) NO. 26123 OF 2024)_

Hon'ble Kerala High Court

Father's Name In Birth Certificate Can't Be Changed Without Court Order, DNA Test Report.

It’s recently held that a Registrar of Births and Deaths has no authority to unilaterally alter the paternity details in a birth certificate where the child was born during a valid marriage, without a court order or notice to the lawful father.

The court referred to Section 15 of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, and Rule 11 of the Kerala Registration of Births and Deaths Rule, 199, which lays down the procedure to correct or cancel an entry in the Register of Births and Deaths. The Court noted that the power conferred on a Registrar under Section 15 and Rule 11 are circumscribed and limited to the correction of clerical or formal errors or entries fraudulently or improperly made, and not matters of disputed paternity, which require a full fledged trial and adjudication.

The Court held that if the father's name has to be changed in the birth records, a DNA test report, an agreement attested before a Notary Public and an order from a competent Court are to be produced according to the circular issued by the Local Self Government Department.

The Court quashed the impugned substituted birth report and certificate and directed the Registrar to reconsider the application submitted by the respondent strictly in accordance with law and affording the petitioner an opportunity to be heard.