Gujarat High Court
Godhani Lataben Devendrakumar vs The Sub-Registrar And Deputy Health ... on 14 July, 2023
Author: Vaibhavi D. Nanavati
Bench: Vaibhavi D. Nanavati
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/SCA/3710/2023 ORDER DATED: 14/07/2023
undefined
IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 3710 of 2023
==========================================================
GODHANI LATABEN DEVENDRAKUMAR
Versus
THE SUB-REGISTRAR AND DEPUTY HEALTH OFFICER (EAST ZONE A
VARACHHA)
==========================================================
Appearance:
S M KIKANI(7596) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1,2
MR KAUSHAL D PANDYA(2905) for the Respondent(s) No. 1
==========================================================
CORAM:HONOURABLE MS. JUSTICE VAIBHAVI D. NANAVATI
Date : 14/07/2023
ORAL ORDER
1. By way of present petition, the petitioners being natural guardians of their minor son "jiyaan" i.e. the petitioner No.1 being natural mother of the petitioner and the petitioner No.2 being adoptive father of the minor, are aggrieved by the impugned communication dated 27.10.2022, issued by the respondent No.2, which is duly produced at Annexure "D" page-45, and be pleased to direct the respondent No.2 to amend and/ or correct or mention the name of the petitioner No.2 in the column of 'father name' as 'Devendrakumar Dhirubhai Godhani' in place of 'Piyushbhai Ramjibhai Maiyaani' in the birth certificate of son of petitioners.
2. It is the case of the petitioners that the Petitioner No.1 had earlier married to one Piyushbhai Ramjibhai Maiyaani and out of the said wedlock of petitioner No.1 Page 1 of 19 Downloaded on : Sat Sep 16 21:35:44 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/3710/2023 ORDER DATED: 14/07/2023 undefined with 'Piyushbhai Ramjibhai Maiyaani', a son "Jiyaan" came to be born on 29.01.2014. A copy of the birth certificate issued by the respondent to son of petitioners is duly produced at Annexure "A". It is submitted that the birth of son came to be recorded in the record of the office of respondent No.2.
3. Heard Mr. S.M. Kikani, the learned advocate appearing for the petitioner and Mr. Kaushal Pandya, the learned advocate appearing for the respondent No.1.
3.1 It is submitted that since matrimonial disputes cropped-up between the petitioner No.1 and Piyushbhai Ramjibhai Maiyaani, they decided to get separate and thereafter the parties got separated by executing a deed of divorce on 16.03.2020 and thereby marriage of petitioner No.1 with Piyushbhai Ramjibhai Maiyaani. It was jointly decided by both the parties that the custody of minor son "Jiyaan" shall remain with petitioner No.1.
3.2 On 7.4.2021, the petitioner No.1 got married with petitioner No.2 and the marriage is registered in the office of Marriage Registrar, Surat.
3.3 The petitioner No.2, with the consent of the family members of both the petitioners, adopted minor son "Jiyaan" and entered into an adoption deed which is duly registered by Registration No.2005/2022 on 11.02.2022, Page 2 of 19 Downloaded on : Sat Sep 16 21:35:44 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/3710/2023 ORDER DATED: 14/07/2023 undefined duly produced at Annexure "B".
3.4 It is submitted that in view of variation in various documents, the petitioner No.1 herein preferred an application/ representation before respondent No.2 on 21.10.2022 along with all documents of petitioner, including adoption deed, for entering name of the petitioner No.2 in the Column of Father name in the birth certificate of minor son "Jiyaan" as "Devendrakuma Dhirubhai Godhani" in place of "Piyushbhai Ramjibhai Maiyaani". A copy of the written representation dated 21.10.2022 along with affidavit of petitioners is duly produced at Annexure "C" (Colly). It is submitted that the respondent No.2, by its written communication dated 27.10.2022, declined to accept the said representation dated 21.10.2022, on the ground that only deed of adoption is produced whereas decree of adoption is not produced as also consent of biological father is also not taken and, therefore, changes as sought for cannot be done. A copy of the written communication/ order dated 27.10.2022 is produced at Page-45 (Anexure "D"). In view thereof, the application preferred by the petitioner No.1 came to be rejected.
3.5 The learned advocate for the petitioner has relied upon the decision in case of Chhayaben @ Hetalben Atulbhai Asodariya v. Registrar of Birth and Death / Chief Page 3 of 19 Downloaded on : Sat Sep 16 21:35:44 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/3710/2023 ORDER DATED: 14/07/2023 undefined Officer, reported in 2022 (4) GLR 3279.
4. Being aggrieved by the impugned order dated 27.10.2022 passed by the respondent No.2, rejecting the said application of the petitioner dated 21.10.2023 seeking change of name, as referred above, the petitioners have approached this Court by filing the present petition.
5. It is an undisputed fact that the petitioner No.1 and petitioner No.2 entered into wedlock on 7.4.2021. Pursuant to the same, the petitioner adopted minor son "Jiyaan " by executing registered adoption deed. The said registered adoption deed is duly produced at Annexure "B" at page-9. Inspite of the aforesaid, the respondent No.2 declined to consider the application filed by the petitioner seeking aforesaid change.
6. At this stage, it is apposite to refer to order passed by the Division Bench of this Court in LPA No.672 of 2023 and the paragraphs No. 5.1, 5.1.1, 5.2, 5.2.1, 5.2.2, 5.3 and 5.4 of the said order read thus:
5.1 The court extracted propositions of law from another decision in Amruta Vijay Vora Vs. Union of India in Special Civil Application No.11959 of 2002, in para 6 thus, "Even otherwise also, as per section 16 of Hindu Page 4 of 19 Downloaded on : Sat Sep 16 21:35:44 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/3710/2023 ORDER DATED: 14/07/2023 undefined Adoption & Maintenance Act, 1956 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act") when any adoption deed is registered there shall be a presumption for documents relating to the adoption and the presumption shall be that the adoption has been made in compliance with the provisions of Act unless and until it is disproved. Such presumption can be made applicable not only in court proceedings but such presumption in view of Section 16 can also reasonably be made applicable even at the time when the authority has to consider the matter for issuance of passport because the passport authority while considering the matter for issuance of passport is also acting as a quasi judicial authority."
5.1.1 In that case the Regional Passport Officer was directed to consider the application and to issue the passport by changing name. In Nayankumar Rajnikaben Trivedi (supra) it was observed and held in para 7 that since the adoption deed was registered one, the presumption under Section 16 of the Hindu Adoption & Maintenance Act, 1956 can be drawn, "In any event, the petitioner is lawfully adopted by a Hindu lady and the Deed of Adoption is registered and therefore the presumption as per the provisions of section 16 of Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956 can be drawn in favour of the petitioner also. The said presumption would operate so long as there is no challenge or such presumption is not rebutted by the procedure known to law. It is not the case of any of the respondent that there are facts and circumstances which would not attract such presumption. The said Page 5 of 19 Downloaded on : Sat Sep 16 21:35:44 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/3710/2023 ORDER DATED: 14/07/2023 undefined aspect is coupled with the fact that for change of the name of the petitioner by changing his identify, it is also published in the Government Gazette dated 10.4.2003 and therefore a judicial notice can be taken that such adoption is accordingly notified in the government gazette and known to the public at large."
5.2 Similar was the controversy in Bhavya Rajeshkumar Patel Vs. State of Gujarat being Special Civil Application No.9930 of 2015 decided on 10.12.2015. The law discussed on the point in Bhavya Rajeshkumar Patel (supra) referring to and relying on Nitaben Nareshbhai Patel (supra) applies in the facts of the present case. The decision in Manoj Omprakash Goyal Vs. State of Gujarat [2011 (2) GLH 455] as well as Rameshbhai Nathubhai Solanki Vs. Rajkot Municipal Corporation [2013 (2) GLR 1535] were referred to and relied on the same decision relying the same proposition of law.
5.2.1 The court stated in para 5 referring to Nitaben Nareshbhai Patel (supra), "Respondent No.2 which is the competent authority functioning under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act is vested with statutory power under Section 15 of the said Act which empowers the authority to effect correction in the entries in the Birth Certificate. The decisionof this Court in Nitaben Nareshbhai Patel Vs State of Gujarat[(2008) 1 GLR 884] held that the authority under the Act is duty bound to exercise powers under Section 15 of the Act read with Rule 11 of the Gujarat Registration of Birth and Death Rules, 2004 and consider the request for corrections in the Page 6 of 19 Downloaded on : Sat Sep 16 21:35:44 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/3710/2023 ORDER DATED: 14/07/2023 undefined Birth Certificate. It is held that a writ of mandamus can be issued since the authority is statutorily enjoined to act."
5.2.2 It was observed in para 6.1 that the Registered Adoption Deed has to be treated valid, "The date of birth and the other details of the petitioner is already recorded in the Birth Certificate issued by the authority at the relevant time. It cannot be gainsaid that the registered Adoption Deed has to be a valid aspect to go into the consideration of the authority when he deals with the application of the petitioner for correction in the Certificate of Birth. "
5.3 In Bhavya Rajeshkumar Patel (supra) also the authority has rejected the prayer of the petitioner by stating that the petitioner should obtain a writ from the court. The following was further observed in para 6.2, "In Amruta Vijay Vora Vs Union of India [2013 (2) GLR 2625], the petitioner wanted the name of adoptive father inserted in the passport on the basis of registered Deed of Adoption. This Court observed and held that as per Section 18 of Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956, when any Adoption Deed is registered there shall be a presumption for documents relating to the adoption and the presumption shall be that the adoption has been made in compliance with the provisions of the Act unless and until it is disproved. It was observed that such presumption can be made Page 7 of 19 Downloaded on : Sat Sep 16 21:35:44 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/3710/2023 ORDER DATED: 14/07/2023 undefined applicable not only in court proceedings but such presumption in view of Section 16 can also reasonably be made applicable even at the time when the authority has to consider the mater for issuance of passport because the passport authority while considering the matter for issuance of passport is also acting as a quasi- judicial authority. It has to be stated that though the aforesaid decision is with regard to the change in the passport details, the principle about the legal assertiveness of registered Adoption Deed would apply. The authority under the Registration of Birth and Death Act has to act in accordance with law exercising powers under Section 15 read with Rule 11 of the Rules in relation to the application made by the petitioner."
5.4 The outweighing aspect in the facts of this case is that the change of the name of the father was prayed for on the basis of the Registered Adoption Deed. The petitioner became adoptive father of the child in view of the execution of Registered Adoption Deed. The Registered Adoption Deed is binding to the authority under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act. Once it s is registered deed of adoption, its validity and effect cannot be called in question by the respondent authority. The Registrar is bound in law to incorporate change in the register of Births and Deaths on the basis of the Registered Adoption Deed. The same cannot be ignored or disregarded for its effect.
7. It is apposite to refer to Sections 9 and 16 of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956, which reads as under:
Page 8 of 19 Downloaded on : Sat Sep 16 21:35:44 IST 2023NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/3710/2023 ORDER DATED: 14/07/2023 undefined "Section 9 - Persons capable of giving in adoption. --
(1) No person except the father or mother or the guardian of a child shall have the capacity to give the child in adoption. (2) Subject to the provisions of sub-section 4, the father or mother, if live shall alone have equal right to give a son or daughter in adoption.
Provided that such rights shall not be exercised by either of them, save with consent with other unless one of them has completely and finally renounced the world or has ceased to be a Hindu or has been declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be unsound mind."
Section 16 : Presumption as to registered documents relating to adoption. - Whenever any document registered under any law for the time being in force is produced before any court purporting to record an adoption made and is signed by the person giving and the person taking the child in adoption, the court shall presume that the adoption has been made in compliance with the provisions of this Act unless and until it is disproved ."
8. It is also apposite to refer to order passed in SCA No.7864/2016, and the relevant paragraphs of the said order reads thus:
"10. Upon considering the submissions made and on perusal of the record, it clearly transpires that by a judgment and decree dated 18.02.2012 passed by the Family Court, Ahmedabad in Family Suit No.688 of 2011, the marriage Page 9 of 19 Downloaded on : Sat Sep 16 21:35:44 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/3710/2023 ORDER DATED: 14/07/2023 undefined solemnized between respondent no.3 and the wife of the present petitioner, Neelamben, came to be dissolved. The said judgment records as under-
"The custody of the minor son shall remain with the petitioner no.2/wife in future. The petitioner no.1/husband have (sic) has waived his visitation rights to meet the minor in future." The said decree is also registered.
11. It further appears that thereafter, a Deed of Adoption came to be registered wherein the petitioner has adopted minor Harsh and such Adoption Deed is duly registered under Registration No.7262 dated 18.11.2015. It is clear from the decree of divorce between respondent no.3 herein and wife of the present petitioner that all rights of minor son Harsh was given to Neelamben, the present wife of the petitioner and thereafter, a registered Deed of Adoption is executed, which is in accordance with law and the Adoption Deed was registered with the competent authority and at present the petitioner and his wife have become parents of minor Harsh.
12. Section 16 of the the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956, provides as under:
"Whenever any document registered under any law for the time being in force is produced before any court purporting to record an adoption made and is signed by the person giving and the person Page 10 of 19 Downloaded on : Sat Sep 16 21:35:44 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/3710/2023 ORDER DATED: 14/07/2023 undefined taking the child in adoption, the court shall presume that the adoption has been made in compliance with the provisions of this Act unless and until it is disproved."
13. In the case on hand, the decree of divorce between the biological parents clearly provides that custody of minor Harsh would be with the wife of the petitioner and respondent no.3 as former husband, has given up all his rights. The Deed of Adoption is a registered deed which is not challenged by anybody. On the contrary, as noted hereinabove, respondent no.3 who happens to be the biological father of the minor child Harsh has expressed by way of an affidavit before this Court in this petition unequivocally that he has no objection if the petitioner's name is substituted as father. Thus, as provided under section 16 of the the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956, minor Harsh is lawfully adopted and the Deed of Adoption is registered and therefore the presumption as per the provisions of section 16 of the Act can be drawn in favour of the petitioner as there is no rebuttal by the procedure known to the law. Following the ratio laid down by this Court in the case of N.R. Trivedi v. District Education Officer, Anand , AIR 2004 Guj 53, thus, from the record of this case, it appears that the presumption as regards adoption by a registered deed would be in favour of the petitioner.
14. In light of the aforesaid therefore, the following direction is issued -
Page 11 of 19 Downloaded on : Sat Sep 16 21:35:44 IST 2023NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/3710/2023 ORDER DATED: 14/07/2023 undefined
a) The respondent Corporation shall make entry in the birth certificate of the minor child Harsh according to the application of the petitioner and change the name of father from Snehal Pravinbhai Jayswal to the present petitioner, i.e., Tushar Kanaiyalal Vyas.
b) Such exercise shall be carried out by the respondent no.2 authority as expeditiously as possible and a fresh birth certificate of minor child Harsh with necessary entries shall be issued to the petitioner within a period of three weeks from the date of receipt of this order."
9. At this stage, it is also apposite to refer to the ratio laid down by this Court in the case of Chhayaben @ HEtalben Atulbhai Asodariya v. Registrar of Birth and Death / Chief Officer (Supra), wherein para-13 reads thus:
"13. It is pertinent to note that a Divorce Deed dated 06.04.2016, which has been executed between petitioner No.1 and her former husband - Shaileshbhai Vallabhai Jadvani as per prevailing customs. In paragraph No.3 of the said deed, it was mutually decided that custody of minor son 'Devam' is accepted by the mother-petitioner no.1. Thereafter, the petitioner no.1 got married to petitioner adopting no.2, minor and 'Devam' an adoption was deed, registered on 15.03.2017 vide Registration No.2194. This gave rise for change in name of the father in the birth certificate registered at Serial No.665 by the respondent. An application in this regard was made to the respondent, but Page 12 of 19 Downloaded on : Sat Sep 16 21:35:44 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/3710/2023 ORDER DATED: 14/07/2023 undefined the same was rejected by the impugned petitioners to communication produce an order asking of the the local court with regard to the adoption. Such reason was assigned in view of the circulars dated 12.08.2009 and 18.2.2016 issued by the State Authority. Such circulars are subsequently canceled by the order dated 02.12.2021 issued by the State Authority. The aforementioned twin objections are raised in the affidavit-in-reply filed by the respondent. In the considered opinion of this Court, neither the consent of the biological father is required to be obtained by the Registrar for altering the name of father nor he is required to be arraigned as a party to the writ petition, since during the passage of more than five years, the biological father has neither raised any objection to the custody of minor child nor he has raised any objection to the marriage and subsequent adoption deed of the minor child. As per the clause of the divorce deed, the petitioner no.1 - mother was given the sole custody of the minor child and hence, the former husband of the petitioner no.1 is deemed to have given up all his rights with regard to the minor 'Devam'. The stage of obtaining consent, as defined under section 9 of the Hindu Adoptions invoked and at Maintenance the stage Act, of 1956 cannot incorporating be the father's name (adoptive) in the birth record of the son, after the divorce and adoption deeds have been registered and have not be questioned in any court of law or there is no other legal embargo and have remained uncontroveted. Thus, neither the biological father, i.e. the former husband of the petitioner no.1 is required to be made as a party ascertaining to his the writ proceedings nor his consent opinion for is necessary to be called for by the Registrar. The petitioner no.1 and 2 are happily married Page 13 of 19 Downloaded on : Sat Sep 16 21:35:44 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/3710/2023 ORDER DATED: 14/07/2023 undefined couple since more than five years and the adoption deed is also of 15.03.2017.
14. In such undisputed circumstances facts, and in light of undisputed facts, the opinion of biological father is not necessary and if the same is sought for, it delay will create further complications and delay in making the correction. As per the provision of section 16 of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956, a presumption has to be drawn in favour of the petitioners since there is no rebuttal of the adoption deed of the minor 'Devam'. The Registrar, who is the competent authority under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 can only verify the correction of the adoption deed and if the same is found to be duly registered and valid, he has to make necessary corrections/ changes in the birth records of the adopted child. In the present case, the Registrar has not questioned the registration of the adoption deed."
10. In view of the above, it is apposite to refer to the Circular dated 15.05.2015 issued by the Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, reads thus:-
"Please refer this office letter of even number dated 12th March, 2012 vide which instructions were issued on framing procedure for making; changing entries in birth adoption, Later on, taken into consideration the 2011 CARA guidelines, a clarification was issued by this office letter of even number dated 25th August, 2014 through which submission of adoption deed and adoption order (both) has been made mandatory for registration of birth Page 14 of 19 Downloaded on : Sat Sep 16 21:35:44 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/3710/2023 ORDER DATED: 14/07/2023 undefined of children taken on adoption and issue of birth certificate to them.
2. In response to the aforesaid clarification, this office has received certain queries on submission of adoption order and adoption deed in respect of non-institutional adoptions. In this regard, it has been quoted that non- institutional adoptions are taken place under the provision of Hindu Adoption and Maintenance (HAMA) Act, 1956" and under Section 16 of this Act; the need for production of adoption deed i.e document registered under any law and signed by both parties is sufficient. In this regard, the authenticity of the adoption deed would have to be checked only with the criteria prescribed under the HAMA Act.
3. In order to address the difficulties in producing the adoption order by general public in case of adoption within relatives/acquaintances, the matter has been reviewed and also discussed with the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) of Ministry of Women & Child Development. Accordingly, it has been decided that for in country non-institutional adoptions took place within relations or acquaintances, registered adoption deed is enough, there would be no need to produce adoption order of a court for such cases.
4. However, before registering or making corrections in the birth record, the correctness of the adoption deed should be verified by the Registrar of births and deaths and if adoption deed is found to be Page 15 of 19 Downloaded on : Sat Sep 16 21:35:44 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/3710/2023 ORDER DATED: 14/07/2023 undefined valid duly registered before the Sub Registrar authorized by the State Government, the concern Registrar should make necessary changes in the birth record on the basis of the information given in the adoption deed and insert the name of adoptive parents and child and issue the birth certificate of the adopted child. Further, it is also clarified that in case of non-institutional event, if a adopted child is more than one year old and his/ her birth is not-found registered earlier then as per the prescribed procedure of section 13 (3) of the Registration of Births and Deaths (RBD) Act 1969 an order of local Magistrate under the Delayed registration provision should also be obtained before registering the said event.
5. In view of the above facts and taken into consideration the difficulties faced by the public in getting the birth certificate of adopted children, you are requested to direct the aforesaid contents to the concerned authorities and direct them to issue the birth certificate of adopted children on priority basis and ensure that desired birth certificate should be issued within 7 to 10 days from the date of submission of documents by the adoptive parents to the concerned Registrar. This office may be appraised about the action taken in this regard.
10.1 Circular dated 31.01.2018 issued by the Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, reads thus:-
Please -refer this office letter of even number dated 12th March, 2012 and 25th August 2014 vide which instructions were issued regarding registration procedure Page 16 of 19 Downloaded on : Sat Sep 16 21:35:44 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/3710/2023 ORDER DATED: 14/07/2023 undefined on making/ changing entries 'in birth record of children taken on adoption. These instructions were issued taken into consideration the 2011 guidelines of Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) under which submission of adoption deed and adoption order (both) were made mandatory for registration of birth and issue of birth certificate of children taken on adoption•
2. You may be aware that through the aforesaid directions, adoption order and adoption deed both were made mandatory for registration of birth of adopted children whether through adoption agencies (institutional) or non-institutional adoptions. Later on during 2015, a clarification was issued by this office on 15th May, 2015 through which the system of production of adoption order of a court in case of non-institutional adoptions has been discontinued in the light of the provisions of 'Hindu Adoption and Maintenance (HAMA) Act, 1956 and registered adoption deed has been made mandatory for such registration",
3. Now in respect of adoptions made through institutions i.e. adoption agencies, the Ministry of Women & Child Development has revised its guidelines and notified the same in Gazette Notification dated 04-01-2017 as 'Adoption Regulations 2017' wherein removes the clause of production of adoption deed for institutional adoptions and mentioned at section 36 of the new notification that production of adoption order of the Court is sufficient for registration of birth of child adopted through adoption agencies.Page 17 of 19 Downloaded on : Sat Sep 16 21:35:44 IST 2023
NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/3710/2023 ORDER DATED: 14/07/2023 undefined
4. In order to address the difficulties in producing the adoption deed by general public in case of adoption through institutions (adoption agencies), the matter has been reviewed and accordingly, it has been decided not to insist the public for production of adoption deed for registration of birth of adopted child and register the birth event or make necessary correction/ change on the basis of adoption order of the court and issue the birth certificate of the adopted child.
5. In view of the above facts, you are requested to direct the aforesaid contents to the concerned registration authorities in the State and direct them to issue the birth certificate of adopted children on priority basis with the name of adoptive parents as parents. This office may be appraised about the action taken in this regard."
11. In view of the aforesaid ratio laid-down by this Court, the only requirement is to have a valid registered adoption deed, which is duly produced by the petitioner herein at Annexure "B" at Page-9. All other requirements as contemplated under the Act and Rules are also fulfilled by the petitioners. Under such circumstances, the order passed by the respondent authority dated 27.10.2022 is quashed and set-aside, with a direction to consider the application of the petitioners afresh. The respondent No.2 is directed to take into consideration the adoption deed, which is duly produced at Page-9, to decide the application dated 21.10.2022 preferred by the petitioners Page 18 of 19 Downloaded on : Sat Sep 16 21:35:44 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/3710/2023 ORDER DATED: 14/07/2023 undefined seeking change in the column of 'father name' in the birth certificate of son of petitioners as 'Devendrakumar Dhirubhai Godhani' in place of 'Piyushbhai Ramjibhai Maiyaani' within a period of 4 weeks from the date of receipt of this Order. The respondent - authority is also directed to take into consideration the law as laid down by this Court in Letters Patent Appeal No. 672 of 2023 & Special Civil Application No. 7864/2016, the circular of the Central Government dated 15.5.2015 and 31.1.2018.
In view of the above, the present petition is allowed to the aforesaid extent. Direct Service is permitted.
(VAIBHAVI D. NANAVATI,J) SAJ GEORGE Page 19 of 19 Downloaded on : Sat Sep 16 21:35:44 IST 2023