RAVINDRA PRATAP Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard Mr. Ram Sagar Yadav, learned counsel for the petitioner and learned Additional Chief Standing Counsel appearing for the State.

(2.) Petitioner, who is working on the post of Constable (GD) bearing No. 192711962 at P.R.B. No. 112 of U.P. Police, is aggrieved by the order passed by Deputy Inspector General of Police Establishment, Police Headquarter, U.P. Lucknow, whereby his application for change of his name in the official record from Chhot Kann to Ravindra Pratap has been rejected.

(3.) Briefly stated facts of the case are that petitioner was named by his parents as 'Chhot Kann' and accordingly, when he entered in high school, his name got registered as 'Choot Kann' and thus he obtained high school and intermediate certificate with this name as 'Chhot Kann' son of Narayan (father) and Kaushalya Devi (mother). Later on, he came to be selected in U.P. police as Constable, however, soon after entering into police force, he saw people making fun out of his name as Chhot Kann and thus started teasing him quite often. This satirazation of his name amongst colleges and friends became matter of embarrassment and depression for him and accordingly, he decided to change his name as per Government Order issued in this behalf bearing G.O. No. 3497/III 500 (5)-46 dated November 6, 1946. He got changed his name from 'Chott Kann' to 'Ravindra Pratap' son of Narayan as Constable in U.P. police and got it published in a widely circulated news daily 'Rashtriya Sahara' dtd. 17/6/2020 and also got this information published in the gazette of India bearing Gazette No. (35) New Delhi August, 29-September 4, 2020 (Bhadra 7, 1942) Part-IV page 984. Thus, having got published the information in the news paper as well as the official gazette, petitioner applied before the authority concerned to allow change of his name in the official records from 'Chott Kann' to 'Ravindra Pratap', however, when nothing happened in the matter of his application moved before the authority concerned, petitioner filed a writ petition before this Court bearing Writ-A No. 3409 of 2021, which was disposed of on 3/8/2021 with a direction to the competent authority to accord consideration to petitioner's claim for change of his name in service records. Upon such direction being issued by the Court in writ petition filed by petitioner, Deputy Inspector General of Police, Police Establishment, Government of U.P., Lucknow finally passed an order on 15/12/2021 rejecting request of petitioner for change of his name in official records from 'Chott Kann' to 'Ravindra Pratap' on the ground that petitioner had been appointed by State Government in the name of 'Chott Kann' and now after his appointment his name cannot be changed in official records. The authority passed this order after considering relevant paragraphs of the Government Order dtd. 6/11/1946 as the same stood reproduced in the order itself.