● The registration of the births and deaths is governed under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969.
● The divorced couple cannot change the biological identity of the child by removing either of its natural father or mother’s name in its birth certificate.
● Any entry of a birth or death in any register kept by Registrar is erroneous in form or substance, or has been fraudulently or improperly made, he may, subject to such rules as may be made by the State Government with respect to the conditions on which and the circumstances in which such entries may be corrected or cancelled correct the error or cancel the entry by suitable entry in the margin, without any alteration of the original entry, and shall sign the marginal entry and add thereto the date of the correction or cancellation.(Section 15 in The Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969)
● Rule 5 of Tamil Nadu Registration of Births and Deaths Rules, 2000 deals with adoption and prescribes a form. Serial Nos. 7 and 8 relate to the name of the adoptive mother and the adoptive father.
● Hence, the request to delete the biological father’s or mother’s name from the original birth certificate is not legally sustainable since the rules clearly provide for incorporating the name of the adoptive parents separately in Column nos. 7 and 8 as adoptive parents and not as natural parents.
● Adoption does not sever the relationship of the minor with her biological father.
● Only exception to the above is, when the biological father himself renounces his right as father of the minor and consents for the child to be taken by the adoptive father. (Vivek Narendran vs Unknown)
● The minor child is entitled to the legal status of a biological daughter with all the rights of succession and inheritance in respect of the adopted father and a modified Birth Certificate of the minor be issued.
● Articles 7, 8, 16 and 36 of the United Nations’ Convention on Rights of the Child,1959, endorsed by Republic of India on 11th December 1992, deals with the State’s obligation to protect the child’s identity and name by removing unlawful interference.
● It is an unwarranted exercise affecting the rights of the child and amounts to unlawful interference contrary to law. It is the duty of the Court to protect the rights of the innocent child. – (P.V. Balaji Vs. Registrar of Birth and Death, Pondicherry)