Mumbai: The Bombay High Court recently issued a significant ruling stating that no one can be allowed to change their name without a valid reason simply because they dislike it. However, this permission was granted to a student who filed a petition as a special case. Unfortunately, the decision on the petition filed during his student days has reached him after 14 years.
A student filed a petition in the High Court regarding this matter. The student’s father was a Hindu and his mother a Christian. His name was registered according to the Hindu tradition on his birth certificate, but his school certificate bore a Christian name, resulting in his 10th and 12th grade certificates being registered as Christian. Later, when he began facing career difficulties, he approached the High Court, requesting that the court order the Education Board to change his name in his educational certificates.
High Court Decision
A bench of Justices Ravindra Ghuge and Ashwin Bhobe of the Bombay High Court heard the petition. The Maharashtra Education Board opposed the student’s petition, arguing that the student’s demand should not be granted. If the student’s name change were allowed, the decision would become a matter of course. The board expressed concern that hundreds of students would come forward. No one should be allowed to change their name according to their own preferences.
However, the court acknowledged that this student’s case was unique. He had now decided what his name should be. However, he was not at fault for what happened to him as a child. The boy’s birth certificate bears a Hindu name and surname. However, the school has registered a Christian name and surname. His caste is also listed as Hindu. Therefore, the High Court ruled that the student’s name on his school certificate should be consistent with his birth certificate. The bench ordered the 10th and 12th grade boards to register his name in his education certificates according to his birth certificate and issue him a new certificate.
The student’s father was in love with a Christian girl. To marry her, he converted to a Christian name. However, they divorced some time later. Meanwhile, the boy’s Christian name was registered when he enrolled in school. Therefore, his school and college certificates remained Christian.
Later, the boy changed his name in the official gazette to reflect the birth certificate. The same official entry was published in the gazette. Based on this gazette, he applied at the age of 18, requesting to change his name on his educational certificate. However, the school, college, and board did not accept these applications. The boy later filed a petition in the Bombay High Court in 2011. He was only 18 at the time. Finally, after 14 years, the High Court ruled in the student’s favor.
