The Jharkhand high court on Friday allowed Jamshedpur-born marine engineer, Saddam Hussain, who had legally changed his name to Sajid Hussain, to challenge a recent order of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) rejecting his application to change his name in the Class 10 and 12 examination certificates.
Hussain had decided to change his name after finding it difficult to secure a job.
Though he managed to get fresh passport, aadhaar card, driving licence and pan card with his new name, Hussain failed to get his name changed in the educational certificates as the CBSE governing body rejected his application on April 28, clarifying that there was no such provision in the examination by laws.
The court, however, refused the request of petitioner’s counsel to pass a favourable order, observing that Hussain had not challenged the CBSE’s rejection order yet.
Hussain, 25, is suffering for the last two years for carrying the name of former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein. Hussain claims he has failed to find a job because of his namesake.
Earlier, hearing the case on March 17, the court had raised a larger issue observing that there was no uniform code for changing names in the country. “Different departments have different rules for changing a person’s name. As such, unscrupulous people often abuse the system by frequently changing names,” the court had observed, asking the Union government to clarify its stand by May 5.
{{/usCountry}}Earlier, hearing the case on March 17, the court had raised a larger issue observing that there was no uniform code for changing names in the country. “Different departments have different rules for changing a person’s name. As such, unscrupulous people often abuse the system by frequently changing names,” the court had observed, asking the Union government to clarify its stand by May 5.
{{/usCountry}}However, no reply was filed by the Union government in this regard.
The bench of Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh on Friday granted another opportunity to the government for filing its reply within four weeks. It said the court would pass strict orders against officials concerned if they failed to furnish a reply. The case is now slated for hearing on June 16.