Surname with a maternal derivative doesn't affect any substantive legal right: Karnataka High Court

Bengaluru: Alteration of the child’s surname to incorporate the maternal derivative and family name does not affect any substantive legal right of the father or any third party, the Karnataka High Court has ruled in a recent judgement.

Justice Suraj Govindaraj said this while deciding the case emerging from the dissolution of a live-in relationship and the mother seeking to alter the child’s surname with maternal derivative/family name in the birth certificate.

The mother and her live-in-partner are from Nepal. It was submitted that the child, now about eight years old and attending school in Bengaluru, is being raised solely by the mother, with the support of her maternal family. The father has abandoned them and has no role whatsoever in the child’s life.

The mother along with her child moved HC after her application for alteration in the birth certificate was rejected. The petitioners contended that it is in the best interest of the child that the maternal family’s identity is reflected in the birth certificate.

After perusing the material, Justice Suraj Govindaraj noted that the Registrar (Births and Deaths) possessed power under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, to affect the correction sought. The court also observed that the mother’s decision to give the child her own family name, particularly in circumstances where the father has abandoned the child, is a reasonable and rational exercise of parental authority that serves the best interest of the child.

“The insertion of the maternal derivative/family name in the birth certificate does not affect any substantive legal rights of any person. The biological and legal relationship between the child and the father, including the child’s rights of inheritance, succession, and maintenance, remains unaltered. The change is one of nomenclature and identity that reflects the actual family environment in which the child is being raised,” said Justice Suraj Govindaraj.

The judge further added, “..I hold that the relief sought is squarely in the best interest of the minor child. The change in name will promote the child’s identity, dignity, well-being, and practical convenience, and is consistent with the principle of the best interest of the child as enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution and Article 3 of the UNCRC. The matter would be different if the father participated in the upkeep of the child by contributing to the child’s maintenance.

The court further said that before the fresh birth certificate is issued, the mother shall furnish an indemnity deed in such form as the authorities may prescribe, indemnifying the authorities against any claim that may arise on account of the changes effected pursuant to this order.