Despite clear directions from the Karnataka High Court that the Registrar of Births and Deaths is empowered not only to correct clerical errors but also to make substantial changes to names based on affidavits submitted by applicants, the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) continues to reject applications seeking such corrections in birth certificates, forcing applicants to approach civil courts.

The High Court had also said that correction of name is an administrative matter specifically assigned to Registrar under Section 15 of Registration of Births and Deaths Act and civil courts should not be burdened with original suits, while banning civil courts from dealing with such cases.

As many as 95 original suits have been filed before the court of the Principal Civil Judge and Judicial Magistrate of First Class (JMFC) and the five Additional Civil Judge and JMFC courts in June alone. Of these, 20 suits filed on June 11 and 12 are yet to be assigned to the Civil Judge and JMFC courts for hearing.

The Karnataka High Court, in its 2025 order in the case of Adhrith Bhat vs The Registrar of Births and Deaths, clearly stated that registrars in municipal and local bodies have the power to make changes to names in birth certificates. The court said the registrar should make an endorsement in the birth register stating that the change has been made at the request of parents of minor children or adults themselves. The High Court further directed that the applicants should submit an affidavit declaring that the name change is being sought on their own accord.

Despite submission of necessary documents and affidavit, MCC Central Zonal Commissioner Anil Prabhu, who is functioning as the Registrar (Birth and Deaths) for MCC, continues to reject applications seeking name correction. Mr. Prabhu has contended that the Registrar has power only to correct spelling errors in the name.

Member Secretary of the Dakshina Kannada District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) Zaibunnisa told The Hindu that, in response to a notice issued by the Authority to the MCC on a petition filed by a group of advocates, Mr. Prabhu had denied the allegation that applications were being rejected. “If the Authority receives any further petition regarding rejection of applications, another notice will be issued,” Ms. Zaibunnisa said.

Meanwhile, Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner H.V. Darshan, who is the Administrator of MCC, said he has looked into eight complaints against rejection of name change applications.

An advocate standing near the Birth and Death registration counter at the MCC was seen on Thursday asking for ₹1,400 to file a civil suit for name correction. The same person told The Hindu that another advocate had demanded ₹4,000 for filing a civil suit after his application was rejected.

The High Court had made it clear that civil courts have no jurisdiction in matters related to birth and death records. In the 2025 judgement on a regular first appeal, High Court Judge Sachin Shankar Magadum said Section 15 of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act specifically empowered the Registrar to correct errors or cancel entries in the register if such entries were found to be erroneous in form or substance.

“Upon a plain reading of Section 15, it is manifest that the Legislature intended to oust the jurisdiction of Civil Courts in matters relating to correction of birth and death records, which are purely administrative in nature,” the Judge said and added, “The objective behind providing a summary remedy before the Registrar is to facilitate a quick and efficient rectification process without burdening the Civil Courts with administrative corrections that fall outside the realm of private law disputes”.

Advocate Sukesh Kumar Shetty said based on this High Court ruling, an Additional Civil Judge and JMFC Mangaluru dismissed original suits on name change that came before it.