Cancel old birth certificate on issuing corrected one: Karnataka High Court

Bengaluru: The Dharwad bench of the high court has said that in the event of any correction being carried out in a birth certificate already issued, the Registrars of Births and Deaths have to take steps to cancel the earlier birth certificate.

The court has now asked the Director of Municipal Administration to issue appropriate directions to all the Registrars of Births and Deaths to take back the original birth certificate while issuing the corrected birth certificate, necessarily with the endorsement that the earlier birth certificate has been cancelled. The necessary entries would also have to be made in the e-janma portal, the court said.

The petitioner Syeda Afifa Aymehn, a resident of Hosapete town, Vijayanagar district, moved the high court after the passport authorities raised an objection that there are two birth certificates in existence.

Due to some errors, the date of birth in the birth certificate was recorded as April 15, 1993, while the correct date of birth was March 15, 1993. In all other documents, including the certificate issued by the Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board, motor driving licence and the voter ID issued by the Election Commission, the correct date of birth was recorded.

Noticing the mistake, the petitioner filed proceedings under section 13(3) of the Registration of Birth and Deaths Act before JMFC, Hosapete seeking a direction to carry out correction in the birth certificate. Pursuant to the direction issued in the Lok Adalat, the authorities issued a fresh birth certificate. Thereafter, the petitioner approached the passport authorities.

The passport authority sought a clarification since there were two birth certificates and a passport has been issued as per the earlier certificate mentioning the date of birth as April 15, 1993. The petitioner moved the high court after the Registrar of Births and Deaths, Hosapete asked her to get an appropriate order from the court.

Justice Suraj Govindaraj noted that when the second birth certificate had been issued, the Registrar of Births and Deaths, Hosapete ought to have cancelled the earlier birth certificate. “When a second birth certificate had been issued, the respondent ought to have cancelled the earlier birth certificate, without cancelling the earlier birth certificate another birth certificate has been issued with a different date and now the respondent is calling upon the petitioner to approach appropriate court of law and to obtain a necessary order in order to correct the mistake committed by the respondent, driving the petitioner to this Court in an unnecessary litigation,” Justice Suraj Govindaraj said.