What’s in a name? HC has the answer

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Kochi:  05.05.2020

A person’s right to choose a name he or she likes is part of the right to freedom of speech and expression under Article 19, the high court has held. Government or authorities cannot unreasonably deny such choice, the court held.

The ruling was given by Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas while coming out against CBSE on a petition filed by a 17-year-old student from Mattancherry through advocate K R Vinod. By the time the student got the name changed with the state government, the Plus Two results had come out.

With CBSE declining to allow change of name in their records and the student having to pursue higher studies, a petition was filed and the court heard the case through videoconferencing during vacation sitting considering the urgency.

In the judgment, the court said, “Name is something very personal to an individual. Name is an expression of one’s individuality, one’s identity and one’s uniqueness. Name is the manner in which an individual expresses himself to the world at large. It is the foundation on which he moves around in a civil society. In a democracy, free expression of one’s name in the manner he prefers is a facet of individual right. In our country, to have a name and to express the same in the manner he wishes, is certainly a part of the right to freedom of speech and expression under Article 19 (1) (a) as well as a part of the right to liberty under Article 21of the Constitution of India.”

“State or its instrumentalities cannot stand in the way of use of any name preferred by an individual or for any change of name into one of his choice except to the extent prescribed under Article 19(2) or by a law which is just, fair and reasonable. Subject to the limited grounds of control and regulation of fraudulent or criminal activities or other valid causes, a bonafide claim for change of name in the records maintained by the authorities ought to be allowed without hesitation,” the court said.

State or its instrumentalities cannot stand in the way of use of any name preferred by an individual or for any change of name into one of his choice, the high court said