Avoid DNA test for correcting father’s name in birth record: Kerala HC

Stating that a DNA test should be avoided when deciding a plea to correct a child’s father’s name in birth records, the Kerala High Court has held that children should not have to hang their head in shame if their father’s name had been wrongly entered in the records.

No minor child should suffer merely because he or she was born to unmarried parents, and the name of another person was mistakenly recorded as that of the father in the birth register. The existing law does not permit such a correction without fulfilling certain requirements.

As per a circular issued in this regard, a DNA test report, an agreement attested before a Notary Public and an order from a competent court must be produced, if the father’s name ought to be changed in the birth records.

Should the child undergo the trauma of a DNA test to prove his or her identity, when there is no dispute regarding a child’s paternity, the court asked, while saying that such a requirement should be avoided. In this situation, the Legislature should seriously consider making appropriate amendments to the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, and Rule 11 of ​Kerala Registration of Births and Deaths​ Rules, 1999. No child should suffer because the name of the father or of the mother was wrongly entered in the birth register and there is no remedy available to correct it.

The High Court issued the order on a petition filed by a couple who were in a live-in relationship and a girl child was born to them during the relationship. However, the birth register mistakenly recorded the name of her mother’s first husband from whom she was legally separated, as that of the child’s father.

The couple’s request was rejected, though they approached the authorities, seeking correction of the father’s name. They subsequently approached the High Court. The court further directed the government to correct the name of the child’s father in the birth register.