HC allows man to correct his name after 14 years

The division bench of justices Ravindra Ghuge and Ashwin Bhobe was hearing a petition pending for 14 years, in which the man sought to correct his name from Gregory Thomas to Millind Vinod Seth in his birth records and educational certificates

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday allowed a 32-year-old man to change his name in his school, college and board records after noting multiple mismatches in his documents. The division bench of justices Ravindra Ghuge and Ashwin Bhobe was hearing a petition pending for 14 years, in which the man sought to correct his name from Gregory Thomas to Millind Vinod Seth in his birth records and educational certificates.

The division bench of justices Ravindra Ghuge and Ashwin Bhobe was hearing a petition pending for 14 years, in which the man sought to correct his name from Gregory Thomas to Millind Vinod Seth in his birth records and educational certificates. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Seth, who had first approached the court when he turned 18, explained that his parents got married in a church in 1992, and at the time his father converted to Christianity and changed his name. However, the petitioner’s birth certificate issued in 1993 recorded him under a Hindu name, and his father under his original Hindu identity. When he received his School Leaving Certificate in 2009, it reflected his Christian name, Gregory, but listed his religion as “Hindu”. The same name appeared in his secondary school certificate, and higher secondary certificate.

Seth then submitted an affidavit to change his Christian name to a Hindu one and even approached the deputy director of education in October 2011, trying to get his name changed in his college records. When no relief was granted, he finally approached the Bombay High Court. Allowing the petition, the court described it as a “peculiar case” in which Seth had faced an identity mismatch due to his parents’ inter-faith marriage.

The court took note of a 2019 judgment by the Bombay High Court, which said that after a student has left secondary school, details such as their name or date of birth cannot be altered, except to correct “obvious mistakes”. However, the bench noted that Seth was an “unfortunate person” who had lived with a parallel identity for years.

“While no litigant can be permitted to change his name by choice merely because he may not like a particular name or may fancy a particular name, these circumstances warrant a change, without laying down a precedent,” the bench said. It directed the concerned schools, colleges, and the SSC and HSC boards to issue fresh documents with the corrected name within 30 days.