BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court has directed the Director of Municipal Administration to issue instructions to all Registrars of Births and Deaths, mandating the cancellation of the original birth certificate by taking it back while issuing a corrected one.
The court also ruled that an endorsement must be issued stating the cancellation of the previous certificate, with necessary updates made to the e-Janma portal.
Justice Suraj Govindaraj passed the order while allowing a petition filed by Syeda Afifa Aymehn, a resident of M G Nagar in Hospet, Vijayanagar district. The petitioner sought a directive to the Chief Officer-cum-Registrar of Births and Deaths, Town Panchayat Office in Kamalapur, Hospet taluk, to cancel a birth certificate registered on 13 May 1993, which contained an incorrect birth date.
The petitioner was born on 15 March 1993. However, due to an error, the birth certificate was issued with the date of birth recorded as 15 April 1993.
Unaware of the mistake, the petitioner had provided the correct date of birth for all other official purposes, including education records. The Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board, the college, the driving licence, and the voter ID all reflected 15 March 1993 as the date of birth.
Seeking rectification, the petitioner approached the trial court in Hospet under Section 13(3) of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act. Through a Lok Adalat reference, an order was passed directing the issuance of a new birth certificate with the correct date of birth, which was subsequently issued.
However, when the petitioner later applied for a correction of the date of birth in the passport, the passport authority sought clarification due to the existence of two birth certificates. Since the passport had been issued based on the earlier certificate with the incorrect date of 15 April 1993, the discrepancy required resolution.
The petitioner then submitted an application to the Registrar of Births and Deaths, seeking clarification. In response, the Registrar issued an endorsement on 5 December 2024, stating that the authority could not provide the clarification and that the petitioner would need to obtain an appropriate court order. This led the petitioner to approach the High Court.