JUDGMENT

The petitioner states that he was born at Cherpu Government Hospital on 31.10.1982. At the time of his birth, his name was mistakenly entered as 'ASE' in the Birth Register maintained by the 1st respondent Panchayat. Ext. P3 is the copy of the Birth Certificate. The petitioner had his secondary schooling at VIPS School, Dubai which is now defunct. In the Secondary School Records, his name is entered as ‘Ase V.Sidharthan’, as seen from Ext. P4 copy of the Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) issued by the Board of Public Examinations, Kerala. However, in Ext. P5 Higher Secondary Examination (Class XII) Certificate issued by the Board of Higher Secondary Examination, Government of Kerala, his name is entered as 'Ashwin Sidharthan', which, according to him, is the correct name and is consistent with public documents such as Passport, PAN Card, Driving Licence etc.

2. The petitioner has been working in Switzerland for the past ten years. When he made application for citizenship, the authorities noted a disparity in his name between the Birth Certificate and Passport. Therefore, the petitioner submitted Ext. P7 application before the 3rd respondent, the Secretary, who is t