Point in Issue :
Whether respondent corporation has authority and jurisdiction under the Act and the Rules for making correction in birth certificate as prayed.

Z.K. Saiyed, J.—The present petition has been filed by the petitioner under Articles 14 and 226 of the Constitution of India as well as under the provisions of the Registration of Birth and Deaths Registration Act, 1969 and under the provisions of the Gujarat Registration of Births Deaths Rules, 2004 seeking prayer of directing the respondents to replace the names of the petitioner and his wife (adoptive parents) instead of original parents in the birth certificate issued by the respondents Authorities.

2. The facts of the case briefly stated are that the petitioner is an adoptive father of a child namely “Jaydeep” and he made an application on 13.5.2011 to the Respondent No. 1 Corporation for making necessary changes in the birth certificate by giving the details of adoptive parents and residential address of adoptive parents. It is required to be mentioned that the petitioner and his wife had no issue for long lapse of years of their marriage and therefore, they decided to adopt a child from their family and by mutual consent, they have decided to adopt “Jaydeep”, son of brother of the petitioner namely Kanjibhai and Champaben Kanjibhai Solanki. The petitioner and his wife have adopted said child, for which, on 21.8.2010, a registered adoption deed also came to be executed in respect of adoption of said minor Jaydeep. The petitioner published an advertisement regarding change of name and address of minor son published at Sr. No. 151 in the Gazette of Gujarat dated 16.9.2010. The application made by the petitioner on 13.5.2011 was rejected by the Respondent No. 1 Corporation on 23.12.2011 on the ground that as per letter dated 4.11.1999, the petitioner is required to produce order passed by the competent Court regarding change of name of parents of adoptive child in birth certificate. Therefore, the petitioner has instituted Criminal Misc. Application No. 50 of 2012 before the Court of the learned Judicial Magistrate First Class (Municipal), Rajkot and same was rejected by the learned Magistrate on 23.4.2012. However, the application was preferred by the petitioner was not considered by the respondent Authority. Hence, the present petition has been filed.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that under the provisions of The Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 (“the Act” for short) and The Gujarat Registration of Births and Deaths Rules, 2004, the authority has power to make correction in the record and therefore erroneously rejected his application.

4. Learned advocate Mr. Lalakiya for Corporation – Respondent No. 2 vehemently opposed the submissions made by the learned advocate for the petitioner and submitted that the order passed by the respondent Authority is just and proper and no interference is required to be called for by this Court. He submitted that respondent Corporation does not have the power to change the name of adoptive parents directly as the same is required to be done after leading evidence before the appropriate Court. He submitted that this petition deserves to be rejected.

5. Heard learned AGP Mr. Vyas for the State.

6. I have considered the submissions made by the learned advocates appearing of the parties. I have perused the memo of the petition, affidavit in reply filed on behalf of the Respondent No. 1, provisions of the Act as well as Rules and cases cited by the learned advocate for the petitioner.

7. Section 15 of the Act, the Registrar has power for correction or cancellation of entry in the Register of Births and Deaths Act, 1969. Section 15 of the Act reads as under:

“15. Correction or cancellation of entry in the register of births and deaths – If it is proved to the satisfaction of the Registrar that any entry of a birth or death in any register kept by him under this Act 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 circums