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Despite wide directions from the Karnataka High Court that the Registrar of Births and Deaths is empowered not lone to close clerical errors but besides to marque important changes to names based connected affidavits submitted by applicants, the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) continues to cull applications seeking specified corrections successful commencement certificates, forcing applicants to attack civilian courts.
The High Court had besides said that correction of sanction is an administrative substance specifically assigned to Registrar nether Section 15 of Registration of Births and Deaths Act and civilian courts should not beryllium burdened with archetypal suits, portion banning civilian courts from dealing with specified cases.
As galore arsenic 95 archetypal suits person been filed earlier the tribunal of the Principal Civil Judge and Judicial Magistrate of First Class (JMFC) and the 5 Additional Civil Judge and JMFC courts successful June alone. Of these, 20 suits filed connected June 11 and 12 are yet to beryllium assigned to the Civil Judge and JMFC courts for hearing.
The Karnataka High Court, successful its 2025 bid successful the lawsuit of Adhrith Bhat vs The Registrar of Births and Deaths, intelligibly stated that registrars successful municipal and section bodies person the powerfulness to marque changes to names successful commencement certificates. The tribunal said the registrar should marque an endorsement successful the commencement registry stating that the alteration has been made astatine the petition of parents of insignificant children oregon adults themselves. The High Court further directed that the applicants should taxable an affidavit declaring that the sanction alteration is being sought connected their ain accord.
Despite submission of indispensable documents and affidavit, MCC Central Zonal Commissioner Anil Prabhu, who is functioning arsenic the Registrar (Birth and Deaths) for MCC, continues to cull applications seeking sanction correction. Mr. Prabhu has contended that the Registrar has powerfulness lone to close spelling errors successful the name.
Member Secretary of the Dakshina Kannada District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) Zaibunnisa told The Hindu that, successful effect to a announcement issued by the Authority to the MCC connected a petition filed by a radical of advocates, Mr. Prabhu had denied the allegation that applications were being rejected. “If the Authority receives immoderate further petition regarding rejection of applications, different announcement volition beryllium issued,” Ms. Zaibunnisa said.
Meanwhile, Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner H.V. Darshan, who is the Administrator of MCC, said helium has looked into 8 complaints against rejection of sanction alteration applications.
An advocator lasting adjacent the Birth and Death registration antagonistic astatine the MCC was seen connected Thursday asking for ₹1,400 to record a civilian suit for sanction correction. The aforesaid idiosyncratic told The Hindu that different advocator had demanded ₹4,000 for filing a civilian suit aft his exertion was rejected.
The High Court had made it wide that civilian courts person nary jurisdiction successful matters related to commencement and decease records. In the 2025 judgement connected a regular archetypal appeal, High Court Judge Sachin Shankar Magadum said Section 15 of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act specifically empowered the Registrar to close errors oregon cancel entries successful the registry if specified entries were recovered to beryllium erroneous successful signifier oregon substance.
“Upon a plain speechmaking of Section 15, it is manifest that the Legislature intended to oust the jurisdiction of Civil Courts successful matters relating to correction of commencement and decease records, which are purely administrative successful nature,” the Judge said and added, “The nonsubjective down providing a summary remedy earlier the Registrar is to facilitate a speedy and businesslike rectification process without burdening the Civil Courts with administrative corrections that autumn extracurricular the realm of backstage instrumentality disputes”.
Advocate Sukesh Kumar Shetty said based connected this High Court ruling, an Additional Civil Judge and JMFC Mangaluru dismissed archetypal suits connected sanction alteration that came earlier it.
