BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT DATED: 18.03.2025 CORAM THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE V.LAKSHMINARAYANAN Writ Petition(MD)No.6200 of 2025 RM.Arjunan ..Petitioner Vs

1.The District Collector, Sivagangai District, Sivagangai.

2.The Revenue Divisional Officer, Devakottai, Sivagangai District. ..Respondents Prayer: Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, praying this Court to issue a Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus to call for the records pertaining to the impugned order in O.MU.Aa2/ 10496/2019 dated 10.05.2023 on the file of the Respondent No.2 and consequently direct the Respondents Nos.1 and 2 to issue Death Certificate for the petitioner's Father under Rule 9(3) of the Tamil Nadu Registration of Births and Deaths Rules

2000 within time frame stipulated by this Court.

For Petitioner : Mr.M.Mohaboob Fazil For Respondents : Mr.A.Kannan Addl. Govt. Pleader

ORDER

This writ petition is filed to quash the impugned order in O.MU.Aa2/

10496/2019 dated 10.05.2023 on the file of the second respondent and to direct the respondents 1 and 2 to issue Death Certificate for the petitioner's Father under Rule 9(3) of the Tamil Nadu Registration of Births and Deaths Rules , 2000 within stipulated time.

2. The petitioner is a resident of Keezhakottai Village, Thirupathur Taluk, Sivagangai District. After completing his education, he joined as a Lecturer at Ramasamy Tamil College, Karaikudi. Thereafter, he was working as a Tamil Teacher at the Government Higher Secondary School in the area. He retired from the service on 03.06.2005.

3.The petitioner states that his father, V.Ramasamy Pillai passed away on

08.06.1961 leaving behind the following legal heirs:

(1) R.Muniyandi, (2) R.Kamala (3) R.Veeramani (4) R.Rajeshwari (5) R.Indirani (6) Arjunan (writ petitioner)

On account of young age, the petitioner did not obtain the death certificate of his father during the relevant time.

4. He states that their family had founded a temple dedicated to Vadakkuvadi Draupadi Amman at Sivagangai. His grandfather, Abhimannu Pillai, had initiated a proceedings in O.P.No.72 of 1939 for the declaration that the said temple was an excepted temple. Accepting the contention, a decree was also passed on 18.11.1940. After the lifetime of Abhimannu Pillai, the temple was managed by his legal heirs. The revenue documents for the said temple stand in the name of his ancestors. For the purpose of the mutation of the revenue records, necessity arose to obtain the death certificate of his father, Ramasamy Pillai.

5. The petitioner applied for a death certificate on 23.12.2019. It was rejected by the impugned order stating that as Ramasamy Pillai died on 08.06.1961, prior to enactment of Registration of Birth and Death Acts, there is no possibility of registering the death of the petitioner's father. Hence, this writ petition.

6. Heard Mr.M.Mahaboob Fazil, for the petitioner and Mr.A.Kannan, learned Additional Government Pleader, who took notice on behalf of the respondents.

7. Mr.M.Mahaboob Fazil reiterated the contentions made in the affidavit and pleaded that there is no bar under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act to give a certificate for a person, who has died before the commencement of the Act.

8. Per contra, Mr.A.Kannan, on instructions, states that since the Act came into force only on 01.04.1970 in the State of Tamil Nadu, the death which has taken place prior to the coming into force of the Act, cannot be registered under the Act.

9. I have carefully considered the submissions of both sides and gone through the records.

10. The registration of birth, death, and marriage was governed by Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act, 1886. That came into being repealed by virtue of Section 31 of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969. In terms of Section 31(2), the repeal of the said provision does not in any way affect anything done under the old Act, which is not inconsistent with the new Act and it is determined to have been done