THOMAS JACOB Vs. REGISTRAR OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner is the father of Sri.Joshwa Thomas Jacob who is presently employed as a Software Engineer in the United States of America. THE petitioner's son, Joshwa Thomas Jacob, was born on 1.9.1981 at Pulinkunnu in the State of Kerala and he was baptised on 21.9.1981. In the school records also, the said date (1.9.1981) was given as the date of birth as can be seen from Ext.P2, a copy of the secondary school leaving certificate. In the passport issued to the petitioner's son, Joshwa Thomas Jacob, a copy of which is produced as Ext.P3, the date of birth is given as 1.9.1981. However, it appears that when the birth of the petitioner's son, Joshwa Thomas Jacob, was registered, his date of birth was given as 8.9.1981 and his name as Joseph Thomas Jacob. With a view of enable the petitioner's son to apply for a Green card, the petitioner applied for and obtained a birth certificate from the first respondent. Since in the Register of Births, the date of birth of the petitioner's son, Joshwa Thomas Jacob, was entered as 8.9.1981, the petitioner, on behalf of his son, submitted Ext.P5 application before the first respondent requesting him to correct the date of birth from 8.9.1981 to 1.9.1981. He also applied for correction of the name of his son from Joseph Thomas Jacob to Joshwa Thomas Jacob. By Ext.P7 order dated 22.1.2010, the first respondent allowed the correction of name, but declined to correct the date of birth. THE petitioner thereupon filed W.P.(C) No.3154 of 2010 in this Court challenging Ext.P7 order. By Ext.P8 judgment delivered on 8.1.2010, a learned single Judge of this Court directed the first respondent to reconsider the application for correction of date of birth, with reference to the documents produced by the petitioner and to pass orders thereon, within four weeks from the date of production of a copy of the judgment. THE first respondent thereafter passed Ext.P11 order dated 7.6.2010 again rejecting the application for correction of the date of birth. THE first respondent held that as the date of birth was reported by the hospital authorities as 8.9.1981 and the hospital is presently defunct, he is not in a position to correct the date of birth. Ext.P11 is under challenge in this writ petition.

(2.) THE petitioner contends that the order passed by the first respondent runs counter to the provisions contained in section 15 of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act 1969 and rule 12 of the Registration of Births and Deaths Rules, 1970. It is contended that as the identity of the petitioner's son is not in dispute and the school records and passport disclose that his date of birth is 1.9.1981, the first respondent ought to have corrected the date of birth as 1.9.1981 and issued a certified extract from the Register of Births to the petitioner.

(3.) I accordingly quash Ext.P11 and direct that in the event of the petitioner and his wife (parents of Sri.Joshwa Thomas Jacob) submitting a joint declaration in the form of an affidavit attested by a notary to the effect that their son, Joshwa Thomas Jacob, was born on 1.9.1981 and not on 8.9.1981, the Registrar of Births and Deaths shall cause an enquiry to be conducted and shall make necessary entries in the Register of Births and Deaths, if after such enquiry, he is satisfied that the date of birth of Joshwa Thomas Jacob should be corrected as prayed for by the petitioner, and issue a certified extract from the corrected Register of Births to the petitioner. The entire exercise shall be completed within a period of one month from the date on which the petitioner and his wife submit a joint declaration as stated above.