Bombay HC Grants Unwed Mother Birth Certificate Sans Father's Name

The Bombay high court directed to issue a birth certificate to an unwed mother from Nallasopara. The birth certificate issued, will be without mentioning the name of the father. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) received the directions from the Bombay High Court on 4th April.

A division bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Riyaz Chagla directed the civic body to recall the earlier decisions. The 31-year-old received a birth certificate earlier, which, included the name of the biological father. They have decided to issue a new certificate, leaving the column blank for biological father’s name.

Gave Birth to a test-tube Baby

The plaintiff's lawyer, Uday Warunjikar, had filed a petition on August 20, 2016. She claims she was unmarried and had given birth to a test-tube baby, a girl child.

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In her petition, she claims that she had conceived using the process of in-vitro fertilization. Her counsellor states that the woman was unaware of the sperm donor (biological father of the child). However, child's birth certificate included the name of the biological father.

The bench was refusing to get into the controversy. They said that in this sort of dispute, the woman will have to initiate proper proceedings before a civil court.

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However, the bench has accepted the argument put forth by her lawyer, Warunjikar. It became obligatory to issue a fresh birth certificate as per the law laid down by the Apex Court in 2015.

The law states that,

If an unwed woman has an affidavit that she does not want the name of the biological father of her child to be reflected in the birth certificate of the child. Whenever she approaches the registrar, a fresh birth certificate needs to be issued. Certificate without mentioning the name of the father.

Earlier a Borivali resident received a grant to a similar decision on 18 March. The woman did not intend to include the name of the biological father anywhere. She wanted the child’s birth records or birth certificate to be free from the name of the biological father.

Picture Credits: Reader's Digest

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Deepali is an intern with SheThePeople.TV