C. Hari Shankar, J.

The petitioner appears to be a man with multiple identities.

2. In his birth certificate, the petitioner's name is shown as "Rajender Bhandari".

3. The petitioner passed his X class examination in 2006 and his XII class examination in 2008. The certificates issued by the Central Board of Secondary Education (hereinafter referred to as "the CBSE"), on both the occasions, reflected the name of the petitioner as "Rajender Singh"

4. Thereafter, the petitioner obtained his B.Com degree in 2012. In his B.Com degree, dated 14th January, 2012, the name of the petitioner is reflected as "Bhandari Rajender Rupender".

5. Much after this, on 11th April, 2015, the petitioner inserted the following notification in the official Gazette:

"It is for general information that I, Raj Bhandari son of Rupender Singh residing at RZ-7A, Block B, Gali no. 5, Deendarpur Extn., Najafgarh, Delhi 110043 declare that name of mine, my father has been written as Rajender Bhandari/Rajender Singh, Rupender Bhandari in my driving licence, educational documents, PAN data, registration and in service documents and in other documents. The actual name of them are Raj Bhandari and Rupender Singh respectively which may be amended accordingly.

It is certified that I have complied with other legal requirements in this connection.

Sd/-

Raj Bhandari

Signature]"

(Emphasis supplied)

6. On the basis of the said certificate, the petitioner seeks a mandamus to the CBSE to change his name, as is reflected in the class X and class XII certificates from "Rajender Singh" to "Raj Bhandari".

7. Mr. Banamali Shukla, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner, submits, today, that the afore-extracted Gazette notification was actually in the nature of a change of name, as, by the notification, the petitioner had changed his name from "Rajender Bhandari/Rajender Singh" to "Raj Bhandari". If this is a fact, the petitioner would have no case to plead whatsoever, as a subsequent change of name can, quite obviously, not constitute a basis to seek change in the certificate issued by the CBSE prior thereto.

8. A reading of the notification, however, does not indicate that this is the case. The notification is in the nature of a declaration that the petitioner's name is "Raj Bhandari" and not in the form of a change of name. The notification itself appears to be incorrect, as the birth certificate of the petitioner, which has been handed over by the learned counsel for the petitioner, across the Board, pursuant to a query by this Court, indicates that the petitioner's name was, at that stage, reflected as "Rajender Bhandari", as already noted hereinabove.

9. Clause 69.1(c), of the Bye-laws applicable to the CBSE, which deals with applications for change of name of the student, read thus:

"69.1 Changes and Corrections in Name

(i) Change in name of candidate/Father/Mother/ Guardian once entered in the Board's record at any stage while studying in Class IX, X, XI, XII or thereafter, within a period of ten years from the date of issue of first such document shall be considered on written request of the Candidate (not minor)/father/mother/guardian duly forwarded by the Head of the Institution supported by the following documents:

(c) Original copy of Publication in Government Gazette."

As per this clause, publication of the changed name in the official Gazette prior to the declaration of result is mandatory, for any request for change of name to be entertained.

10. In view of the fact that the name of the petitioner is entered in his birth certificate as "Rajender Bhandari" which is itself contrary to the Gazette notification dated 11th April, 2015 which itself was issued much after the issuance, by the CBSE, of the X and XII class c