Single Mothers need not mention Father’s name on Child’s Birth Certificate

Kandeep Shravan | SASTRA Deemed to be University | 28th June 2020

Mathumitha Ramesh vs The Chief Health Officer and others

Facts: 

The petitioner is a divorced lady who underwent an intrauterine fertility insemination gave birth to a baby girl. The surname (father’s name) was registered wrongly in the name of the person who was helping the petitioner in the hospital on humanitarian grounds. The petitioner’s request to rectify the error was rejected on the ground that only the mistake and errors of the Fathers’ name can be done. Removal of the name from the Birth Certificate is not envisaged under the relevant law. Neither Section 15 of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 nor Rule 11 of the Tamil Nadu Registration of Births and Deaths Rules, 2000 mandates the disclosure of the father’s name to be mentioned in the birth certificate. When the petitioner had approached the Revenue Divisional Office, the request was rejected again stating that the Registrar is the Competent authority to rectify such errors. Thus, a writ petition was filed.

Issues:

1. Can a Father’s name be removed from the Birth Certificate under Section 15 of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 r/w Rule 11 of the Tamil Nadu Registration of Births and Deaths Rules, 2000?

Analysis:

The Court laid down a few points:

1. If a birth certificate is applied by a single mother for a child born from her womb, a certificate can be issued after the respected authorities ask her to furnish an affidavit, unless there is a contrary court direction.

• Since the concerned child was born though intrauterine fertility treatment and from the woman’s womb, disclosure of father’s cannot be insisted by the authorities.

•  Section 15 of The Registration of Births and Deaths Act 1969, r/w Rule 11 of the Tamil Nadu Registration of Births and Deaths Rules, 2000 explicitly states that the Registrar has the powers to rectify the errors that occur in birth certificates.

• In case a child is born with the help of a semen donor, the confidentiality of the donor needs to be protected. Especially for single mothers who have conceived through intrauterine fertility treatment.

• It is the responsibility of the State to make sure that no person faces any difficulty or inconvenience due to the negligence or failure of the parents to register the birth.

Conclusion:The Court further stated that there are cases where women facing various difficulties are restricted to raise children with their own resources due to their unwilling and unconcerned partners to support them. Single or unwed mothers cannot be forced to declare the name of the father who has decided to abandon the child and that is unjustifiable. As stated earlier neither the Act nor the rule mandates the disclosure the father of the child. The Court’s ruling benefits single mothers and lays responsibility on the state to ensure they face no hardships.