Kerala High Court allows son of unwed woman to keep mother's name in documents

Justice P V Kunhikrishnan said a child of an unwed mother is also a citizen of this country and nobody can infringe any of his/her fundamental rights

The children of unwed mothers and rape victims can live in this country with the fundamental rights of privacy, liberty, and dignity, the Kerala High Court has said and allowed a person to include his mother's name alone in the birth certificate, identity certificates and other documents.

Justice P V Kunhikrishnan, in an order issued on July 19, said a child of an unwed mother is also a citizen of this country and nobody can infringe any of his/her fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution.

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"The children of unwed mothers and the children of raped victim can also live in this country with the fundamental rights of privacy, liberty, and dignity. None can intrude into their personal life, and if it happens, the constitutional Court of this country will protect their fundamental rights," the order said.

The name of the father of the petitioner, who is the son of an unwed mother, was different in three of his documents. The court directed the Registrar of Births and Deaths to expunge and remove the name of the father from the Birth Register maintained at the office regarding the petitioner and issue a certificate showing the name of mother only as a single parent, if such a request is made by the petitioners.

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"He/she is a son/daughter of not only the unwed mother but this great country India," the court said in its order. The court also said the state should protect citizens of all kind as equal to other citizens without disclosing their identity and privacy. "Otherwise, they will face unimaginable mental agonies," it said. "We want a society with no such characters like 'Karna', who curses his life because of the insult he faced for not knowing the whereabouts of his parents. We want the real brave 'Karna' who was the real hero and fighter in 'Mahabharata'. Our Constitution and the constitutional Courts will protect all of them and the new age 'Karnas' can live like any other citizen with dignity and pride," Justice Kunhikrishnan said.

The court had also directed the General Education Department, the Board of Higher Secondary Examinations, the UIDAI, the IT Department, the Passport Officer, the Election Commission of India and the State Election Commission to effect the consequential expunge of the name of the father from their official records and databases.