All Documents Must Include Mother's Name, Directs Maharashtra Govt

In a remarkable change, the Maharashtra cabinet mandated that all government documents must include the mother's name. The government stated that the rule would be implemented in revenue and education documents starting May 1, 2024, across the State. The Eknath Shinde-led cabinet approved the mandatory recording of mothers’ names along with children born on or after May 1, 2014. This requirement entails listing the child’s name, followed by the mother’s name, and then the father’s name and surname in all educational documents, revenue papers, salary slips, service books, and application forms for various examinations. 

Aditi Tatkare, the Minister for Women and Child Welfare and Development and NCP (Ajit Pawar) MLA, who proposed this historic initiative, said that the mother's name would no longer be mentioned separately in any document, but rather be included before the child's name. Tatkare expressed, “Maharashtra will lead the nation in implementing such groundbreaking and progressive measures."

Changes To Be Implemented Soon

Starting May 1, 2024, all government documents will be required to include the mother's name before the child's name. The Maharashtra cabinet instructed the Public Health Department to collaborate with the Central Government to make necessary amendments to birth and death registers. 

Notably, the cabinet also decided that the registration process for married women would continue with their maiden name followed by their husband’s name and surname. The cabinet assured that exceptions will be made for orphans and similar exceptional cases regarding the recording of birth and death certificates for children.

Parallel Case: Delhi HC States All Degrees, Certificates Must Include Mother's Name

On March 11, even the Delhi High Court held that degrees and certificates should have names of both mother and father, saying that eliminating the name of the mother would be "clearly retrogressive" in such documents. Justice Harishankar, in an order, noted that there is no reasonable justification for only mentioning the father’s name alone in any certificate relating to education or educational qualifications. 

The HC was hearing the plea of law student Ritika Prasad, who has completed her 5-year B.A. LLB course from a law school in the national capital. She pointed out in her plea that the degree certificate only displays her father’s name (Mahesh Prasad) and excludes her mother’s name (Poonam Prasad).

The single-judge bench observed, "To even psychologically compartmentalize human beings on the basis of sex and gender would be woefully anachronistic. It is a matter of pride and joy to this Court to see that a majority of young Counsel at the bar today – including the redoubtable Ms Prasad – are girls, and, even more satisfyingly, I am informed that 70% of graduates from law schools today are girls."

Justice Harishankar said that there is no reasonable justification for excluding a parent's name from the documents. "The artificial gender-based mental distinction that we have, over ages, drawn, based on a chance chromosomal circumstance, is now all but effaced. If there is still, among us, anyone who retains that mental block, it is time he woke up and smelt the coffee," he said.

“Just as a daughter and son are equally entitled to recognition as the children of a couple, the mother and father are also equally entitled to recognition as parents of the child. To even question, much less deny, this, would be redolent, again, of an archaic and unrealistic notion of gender difference, which is a notion that has clearly outstayed its welcome,” he emphasised.

The plea was filed by Ritika Prasad, a law student at Amity University, which comes under Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU). The Delhi HC directed, “This Court, therefore, simplifies the task of the officials in the University by issuing categorical directions that, in future, every document relating to the students in which the name of the parents of the student is to be mentioned, would reflect the name of both the father and mother of the concerned student. This shall be treated as mandatory and non-negotiable.”

Delhi University Takes Initiative

In December 2023, Delhi University decided to roll out degrees and certificates with a column to include the mother's name. The change came in after the University Grant Commission UGCs guidelines in 2014 directed every college and university to include the mother's name in the degrees. Earlier, many students of DU had approached the University to include their mother's name in the degree. Giving a permanent response to their queries, the University has taken this refreshing step.

Ajay Arora, an officer in the Examination Branch of DU, told Education Times, "Many students raised by single mothers reached out to the university to include their mother’s name in the degree. The University addressed their requests on a one-on-one basis, but this year we have included it in the degree to give a permanent solution." He also added that the directive is about giving due respect to mothers or both parents in general.