MADURAI: The officials of Madurai Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) have received around 720 petitions in the last five months from kin of dead patients seeking correction of 'name' in the death certificate, stated an official record.
Hakkim (55), a patient's kin, told TNIE, "My sister Bailuna was admitted to the GRH after she was found suffering from serious ailments since April 2025. During her treatment as her condition started getting worse, we found that her name was misspelt as 'Baiju' in the admission list. When I mentioned the wrong spelling to the local officials, they did not respond immediately. Later, after she passed away, her death certificate had the wrong spelling and did not match her Aadhaar details. This led to legal issues during property transfer and other instances."
Dr S Saravanan, GRH Resident Medical Officer (RMO), said, "During admission, many family members and friends end up misspelling the patient's name due to tension, and they do not carry an Aadhaar card at that time. Later, they tend to forget to recheck it because they get busy with the treatment. In case of death, the name of the deceased is sent to the admin department with the wrong spelling and they send it to the city corporations' Birth and Death Registration section which is located within the hospital premises."
An official from the hospital administration department said, "Changing the name from the registered certificate is not a complex problem but it could take time depending on how long the family members take to submit their records. A patient's kin should submit copies of the death certificate, mortuary label, the victim's Aadhaar card details, the kin's Aadhaar card, ration card, and most importantly, a letter from the Village Administrative Officer (VAO) which declares the correct spelling of the victim's name. Since he is the only one who can authenticate the correct name using his revenue powers."
He also added, "In case of an accident or suspicious death, a copy of the FIR should also be enclosed. If all these documents are submitted, we will verify the records in a day and we will submit a recommendation letter to the Death and Birth Registry of the Madurai city corporation and these officials will process and issue the new death certificate."
According to sources, around 720 petitions were received in the past five months. The department has so far issued 3,600 death certificates between January 2025-May 2025