The Allahabad High Court, in its ruling delivered on Saturday, said that the right to change one’s name is a part of several fundamental rights under the Constitution.
Allahabad: The Allahabad High Court has ruled that every person in India has the fundamental right to choose or change their name. The court said this right is protected under the Indian Constitution.
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A man named Sameer Rao had filed a petition in the court, asking for his name to be changed from “Shahnawaz” to “Md Sameer Rao” in his school records. According to a report by media, his request was earlier rejected by the Uttar Pradesh Board of Secondary Education.
The board said that according to its rule, a name change can only be done within three years of getting the certificate. Since Sameer Rao applied seven years and five months after passing his exams, the board refused his request. He then approached the High Court, arguing that this rejection violated his fundamental rights.
The Allahabad High Court, in its ruling delivered on Saturday, said that the right to change one’s name is a part of several fundamental rights under the Constitution. These rights include:
- Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression (Article 19(1)(a))
- Right to Personal Liberty (Article 21)
- Right to Equality (Article 14)
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The court emphasized that a person’s name is a crucial part of their identity.
It stated, “An individual’s name is an inalienable part of their identity, essential for social interaction and integration.”
The court also noted,
“The power and significance of names transcend time and geographical boundaries, playing a vital role in human existence.”
The Uttar Pradesh Board of Secondary Education had denied the request based on its rule that name changes must be made within three years of getting the certificate. The court rejected this rule, calling it “arbitrary and unconstitutional.”
The judgment further explained that such restrictions were “disproportionate“ and did not match the principles of fairness, justice, and equality stated in the Constitution. The court ruled that limiting name changes to three years after getting a certificate “violated Article 19(1)(a), Article 21, and Article 14.”
Sameer Rao had originally been named Shahnawaz in his High School and Intermediate exam certificates issued by the Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad in 2013 and 2015. Later, in September-October 2020, he publicly declared that he had changed his name to Md Sameer Rao.
After this, he applied to the UP Board of High School and Intermediate Education in 2020 to update his name in the records. However, on December 24, 2020, the board rejected his request, stating that he applied too late.
