New Delhi: The Delhi high court recently held that a person is entitled to change their surname so as not to be identified with any particular caste “that may be a cause of prejudice”, saying that the constitution grants everyone the right to live with dignity and “not to be tied down” by casteism.
The high court was hearing a petition filed by two brothers against the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)’s refusal to change their father’s name on their Class 10 and Class 12 board certificates. They told the court that their father changed his name surname from ‘Mochi’ to ‘Nayak’ “due to caste atrocities suffered by him on day to day basis, based on his surname”.
As required by law, the father published a note in the newspaper about changing his name and it was later notified by way of publication in Gazette Notification. Subsequently, all documents, like the Aadhaar card, PAN card and voter ID card, were also amended to show his surname as ‘Nayak’.
His sons applied for a change of the father’s name in the CBSE’s board certificates. But the CBSE rejected the application, after which they filed a petition in the Delhi high court.
The CBSE argued before the high court that the change in the surname of the petitioners “would entail change in the caste of the petitioners, which could be misused”. The CBSe also claimed that “the petitioners are seeking change of their father’s name, which is beyond the records of the school and is not permissible”, according to LiveLaw.
Justice Mini Pushkarna, in an order passed on May 19, said the CBSE’s rejection of the request to change the name “is totally unjustified”. The order says, “It is to be noted that the petitioners have every right to have an identity which gives them an honourable and respectable identity in the society. If the petitioners have suffered any disadvantage on account of their surname and have faced social prejudices due to the same, they are certainly entitled to change of their identity that gives respectability to the petitioners in the societal structure.”
The order adds:
“The Right to Identity is an intrinsic part of Right to Life under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. There is no denying the fact that Right to Life includes within its ambit, the Right to Live with Dignity, which includes not to be tied down by any casteism that a person may face on account of the caste to which such person belongs. Thus, if a person wants to change his or her surname, so as not to be identified with any particular caste that may be a cause of prejudice to such person in any manner, the same is permissible.”
If the change in the surname is reflected in public documents issued by government agencies, “there is no justification in not allowing similar change in the 10th and 12th CBSE certificates”, the judge held.
To allay the concerns raised on behalf of the CBSE that the changed name could be misused, the court clarified that the change in the surname on the certificates “shall entail only change in the name of their father. The said change shall not entail change of caste of the petitioners, for the petitioners to take advantage of any reservation or any other benefit that may be available to the ‘Nayak’ caste/surname.”