Karnataka High Court
Umadevi vs The Registrar Of Birth And Death on 17 November, 2025
Author: M.G.S.Kamal
Bench: M.G.S.Kamal
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NC: 2025:KHC-K:7059
WP No. 202622 of 2025
HC-KAR
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA,
KALABURAGI BENCH
DATED THIS THE 17TH DAY OF NOVEMBER, 2025
BEFORE
THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE M.G.S.KAMAL
WRIT PETITION NO. 202622 OF 2025 (LB-RES)
BETWEEN:
UMADEVI W/O SHASHIKANTH JOGI,
AGE:45 YEARS, OCC: NIL,
R/O. ABBASAALI DARGA,
YARAGOL VILLAGE,
TQ. AND DIST. YADGIR-585201.
...PETITIONER
(BY SRI MAHANTESH PATIL, ADVOCATE)
AND:
THE REGISTRAR OF BIRTH AND DEATH
Digitally signed CITY MUNICIPAL CORPORATION,
by SACHIN YADGIR-585201.
Location: HIGH
COURT OF
KARNATAKA ...RESPONDENT
(BY SRI GOURISH S. KHASHAMPUR, ADVOCATE)
THIS WRIT PETITION IS FILED UNDER ARTICLES 226
AND 227 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA, PRAYING TO, A)
ISSUE A WRIT IN THE NATURE OF CERTIORARI TO QUASH THE
IMPUGNED ENORSEMENT DATED 08-05-2025 BEARING
NO.¸ÀA/£À¸A
À iÀiÁ:d£À£-
À ªÀÄgÀt ±ÁSÉ:2025-26/58 ISSUED BY THE
RESPONDENT, VIDE ANNEXURE-F. B) ISSUE A WRIT IN THE
NATURE OF MANDAMUS DIRECTING THE RESPONDENT TO
ISSUE DEATH CERTIFICATE OF HUSBAND OF THE PETITIONER
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NC: 2025:KHC-K:7059
WP No. 202622 of 2025
HC-KAR
BY CONSIDERING THE REPRESENTATION DATED 09-04-2025,
VIDE ANNEXURE-E. C) ISSUE SUCH OTHER WRIT OR ORDER
OR DIRECTION AS THIS HON'BLE COURT DEEMS JUST AND
PROPER IN CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE AND ALLOW THIS
WRIT PETITION.
THIS PETITION, COMING ON FOR PRELIMINARY HEARING
IN 'B' GROUP, THIS DAY, ORDER WAS MADE THEREIN AS
UNDER:
CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE M.G.S.KAMAL
ORAL ORDER
(PER: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE M.G.S.KAMAL) Petitioner is before this Court seeking following reliefs :
a) Issue a writ in the nature of certiorari to quash the impugned endorsement dated 08-05-2025 bearing No.¸ÀA/£À¸A À ªÀÄgÀt ±ÁSÉ:2025-26/58 issued by the À iÀiÁ:d£À£-
respondent, vide Annexure-F.
b) Issue a writ in the nature of mandamus directing the respondent to issue death certificate of husband of the petitioner by considering the representation dated 09-04-2025, vide Annexure-E.
c) Issue such other writ or order or direction as this Hon'ble Court deems just and proper in circumstances of the case and allow this writ petition.
2. Case of the petitioner is that she is legally wedded to one Shashikanth. The marriage of the petitioner -3- NC: 2025:KHC-K:7059 WP No. 202622 of 2025 HC-KAR was solemnized with said Shashikanth about 30 years ago.
Three children were born out of their marriage. Since the said Shashikanth neglected to provide maintenance, the petitioner had initiated the proceedings for maintenance in Crl.Misc.No.81/2010 which was allowed. Said Shashikanth had filed petition in M.C.No.14/2013 seeking dissolution of marriage which was dismissed. The said Shashikanth passed away on 30.03.2025. Pursuant to which the petitioner had made a representation dated 09.04.2025 seeking issuance of death certificate. That an endorsement dated 08.05.2025 came to be issued by respondent declining to issue the death certificate of the Shashikanth on the premise that one Anju had filed application claiming to be the wife of Shashikanth. Based on which, the respondent-Registrar by the impugned endorsement directed the petitioner to obtain order from the Civil Court entitled her for the death certificate. Hence the petition.
3. Registration of deaths and births is a statutory obligation casted on the respondent-registrar in terms of -4- NC: 2025:KHC-K:7059 WP No. 202622 of 2025 HC-KAR Sections 7 and 8 of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 (for short, 'the Act'). The said Act does not depend upon the persons who are claiming the death certificate.
4. Sections 7 and 8 of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 reads as under :
"7. Registrars.--(1) The State Government may appoint a Registrar for each local area comprising the area within the jurisdiction of a municipality, panchayat or other local authority or any other area or a combination of any two or more of them:
Provided that the State Government may appoint in the case of a municipality, panchayat or other local authority, any officer or other employee thereof as a Registrar.
(2) Every Registrar shall, without fee or reward, enter in the register maintained [electronically or otherwise] for the purpose all information given to him under Section 8 or Section 9 [in respect of births and deaths which has taken place in his jurisdiction] and shall also take steps to inform himself carefully of every birth and of every death which takes place in his jurisdiction and to ascertain and register the particulars required to be registered.
(3) Every Registrar shall have an officer in the local area for which he is appointed.
-5-NC: 2025:KHC-K:7059 WP No. 202622 of 2025 HC-KAR (4) Every Registrar shall attend his office for the purpose of registering births and deaths on such days and at such hours as the Chief Registrar may direct and shall cause to be placed in some conspicuous place on or near the outer door of the office of the Registrar a board bearing, in the local language, his name with the addition of Registrar of Births and Deaths for the local area for which he is appointed, and the days and hours of his attendance.
(5) The Registrar may, with the prior approval of the Chief Registrar, [appoint Sub-Registrars and, in the event of any disaster or epidemic, appoint Special Sub-Registrars] assign to them any or all of his powers and duties in relation to specified areas within his jurisdiction.
8. Persons required to register births and deaths.-
(1) It shall be the duty of the persons specified below to give or cause to be given, either [orally or in writing with signature], according to the best of their knowledge and belief, within such time as may be prescribed, information to the Registrar of the several particulars [including the Aadhaar number of parents and the informant, if available, in case of birth,] required to be entered in the forms prescribed by the State Government under sub-section (1) of Section 16, -
(a) in respect of births and deaths in a house, whether residential or nonresidential, not being any place referred to in clauses (b) to (e), the head of the house or, in case more than one household live in the house, the head of the household, the person, who is so recognised by -6- NC: 2025:KHC-K:7059 WP No. 202622 of 2025 HC-KAR the house or the household, and if he is not present in the house at any time during the period within which the birth or death has to be reported, the nearest relative of the head present in the house, and in the absence of any such person, the oldest adult person present therein during the said period;
[(aa) in respect of non-institutional adaptation, the adoptive parents;
(ab) in respect of a birth of a child to a single parent or unwed mother for her womb, the parent;
(ac) in respect of a birth of a child through surrogacy, the biological parent;]
(b) in respect of births and deaths in a hospital, health centre, maternity or nursing home or other like institution, the medical officer in charge or any person authorised by him in this behalf;
(c) in respect of births and deaths in a jail, the jailor in charge;
(d) in respect of births and deaths in a choultry, chattaram, hostel, dharamsala, boarding- house, lodging-house, travern, barrack, toddy shop or place of public resort, the person in charge thereof;
[(da) in respect of a child who is taken on adoption from the Specialized Adoption Agency, the person in-charge Specialized Adoption Agency.
Explanation. - For the purpose of this clause, the expression "Specialized Adoption Agency" shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in clause -7- NC: 2025:KHC-K:7059 WP No. 202622 of 2025 HC-KAR (57) of Section 2 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015;
(db) in respect of an orphan abandoned child or surrendered child in any child care institution, the person in-charge or caretaker of the child care institution.
Explanation. - For the purpose of this clause, the expression "abandoned child" or "child care institution" or "orphan" or "surrendered child" shall have the same meaning as respectively assigned to them in clauses (1), 21, 42 and 60 of Section 2 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015;
(dc) in respect of birth of a child through surrogacy in a surrogacy clinic, the person in-charge of the surrogacy clinic.
Explanation. - For the purpose of this clause the expression "surrogacy" and "surrogacy clinic"
shall have the same meaning as respectively assigned to them in clauses (zd) and (ze) of sub- section (1) of 2 of the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act 2021;]
(e) in respect of any new-born child or dead body found deserted in a public place, the headman or other corresponding officer of the village in the case of a village and the officer in charge of the local police station elsewhere:
Provided that any person who finds such child or dead body, or in whose charge such child or dead body may be placed, shall notify such fact to the headman or officer aforesaid;-8-
NC: 2025:KHC-K:7059 WP No. 202622 of 2025 HC-KAR
(f) in any other place, such person as may be prescribed.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-
section (1), the State Government, having regard to the conditions obtaining in a registration division, may by order require that for such period as may be specified in the order, any person specified by the State Government by designation in this behalf, shall give or cause to be given information regarding births and deaths in a house referred to in clause (a) of sub-section (1) instead of the persons specified in that clause.
5. It is also relevant to refer Section 35 of the Indian Evidence Act which reads as under :
"35. Relevancy of entry in public [record or an electronic record] made in performance of duty. - An entry in any public or other official book, register or [record or an electronic record] stating a fact in issue or relevant fact, and made by a public servant in the discharge of his official duty, or by any other person in performance of a duty specially enjoined by the law of the country in which such book, register or [record or an electronic record] is kept, is itself a relevant fact."
6. It is its statutory obligation to register the births and deaths of the persons on receipt of their information and issue certificate when the same is asked -9- NC: 2025:KHC-K:7059 WP No. 202622 of 2025 HC-KAR for by any persons including petitioner claiming to be legal representatives.
7. In the instant case petitioner claiming to be the wife is seeking issuance of a death certificate. There is no provision under law for the respondent to refuse on the ground of the petitioner requiring to obtain a decree declaring her status before seeking issuance of death certificate. Order one being without authority, the same is quashed. Petition is allowed.
8. Respondent-authority is directed to issue death certificate as provided under law.
Sd/-
(M.G.S.KAMAL) JUDGE SN List No.: 1 Sl No.: 57 CT:PK