Madras HC aids mother’s quest for recognition as sole parent of child by Artificial Insemination

In an interesting turn of events, the intervention of the Madras High Court proved crucial to a single mother’s quest to be recognised as the sole parent of her child, born out of the intrauterine insemination (IUI) fertility procedure..The mother had moved a writ petition in the High Court after authorities refused to correct an erroneous entry in the child’s birth certificate, attributing paternity to the mother’s friend..As submitted by Advocate Shabnam for the petitioner/mother, the person so recorded as being the “father” was in the hospital only to help out the petitioner-mother..However, the Chief Health Officer rejected the request for rectification. He did so claiming that that there was no provision in the relevant law allowing for changes to be made only with respect to the father of the child in birth certificates..Thereafter, the High Court directed the petitioner to approach the Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) for making the change. However, the RDO declined to intervene citing that the Registrar is the appropriate authority to make such changes..In the subsequent petition filed before the Madras High Court, it was submitted that the petitioner was being made to run pillar to pillar since the appropriate authority for the task was not identified..On the factual side, affidavits of the petitioner’s former husband and her friend (who was wrongly identified as the father of the child) asserting that the child was not biologically their daughter were also submitted. The petitioner also swore a similar affidavit..Taking note of these submissions, Justice MS Ramesh directed the Chief Health Officer to delete the name erroneously entered as far as the child’s paternity is concerned..Inter alia, it was noted that the authorities had erred in holding that there was no remedy provided in law to correct such details in the birth certificate..In this regard, Justice Ramesh quoted Section 15 of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 and the corresponding state rules in Tamil Nadu. These provisions deal with the correction or cancellation of entry in the register of births and deaths..Notably, the Court also specifically restrained the authority from insisting on another name to attribute paternity in the birth certificate. After making a note to emphasise that the name of the mother’s friend had erroneously crept in the birth certificate, it was held,.“I have made the above observations consciously in order to restrain the first respondent from insisting for any other name in the birth certificate in the father’s column since the child was born by intrauterine fertility procedure.”.Read order below: