Kerala High Court Upholds Right To Change Religion And Name | Orders Correction In SSLC Records Under Constitutional Freedom
Sanchayita Lahkar
The High Court of Kerala Single Bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh allowed a writ petition seeking correction of name and religion in a secondary school certificate. The Court directed the concerned authorities to effect the changes as sought by the petitioner in his SSLC book, holding that Rule 3(1), Chapter VI of the Kerala Education Rules, 1959 provides for the alteration not only of date of birth but also of caste and religion. It was clarified that the authority notified by the Government to alter the date of birth is equally competent to make corrections regarding caste and religion.
The petitioner was born to parents of different religious backgrounds—his father was a Muslim, and his mother was a Hindu. Though born in Palani, Tamil Nadu, the petitioner was raised in Palakkad District, Kerala. His education up to the secondary level was completed at Grace Higher Secondary School, Kodunthirapully, which is now defunct. At the time of school admission, the petitioner was a minor, and his details, including name and religion, were entered by his father as “Mohammed Riyazudeen C.S.” and “Islam, Mappila” respectively.
After attaining majority, the petitioner decided to practice the Hindu religion, under which he was brought up by his mother. He formally embraced Hinduism and submitted proof of religious conversion in the form of a certificate issued by Arya Samajam, Calicut, dated 13.11.2021. He also published a gazette notification on 28.06.2022 announcing the change of name and religion, adopting the new name “Sudhin Krishna C.S.”
On 06.06.2024, the petitioner submitted an application to the District Educational Officer, Palakkad, requesting corrections in the school records to reflect his new name and religion. However, the application was returned as defective, based on a communication dated 19.08.2024 issued by the office of the Joint Commissioner of Examinations. The reason cited was that the Kerala Education Rules, 1959 (KER) did not provide any provision to effect changes in religion in school records.
In response, the petitioner approached the High Court contending that Rule 3(1), Chapter VI of the KER expressly allows for alteration of religion, caste, and date of birth. The petitioner also placed reliance on two previous decisions of the High Court in Naveed M.C @ Noufal v. State of Kerala (W.P.(C) No. 3832/2021) and Lohith S. v. State of Kerala (W.P.(C) No. 22847/2024), in which similar changes had been allowed. These judgments had interpreted Rule 3(1) to permit modifications of religion in school records where sufficient evidence of religious conversion had been submitted.
The petitioner argued that his application was supported by all necessary documents including the conversion certificate and gazette notification and that the refusal to amend his records was inconsistent with existing statutory provisions and binding judicial precedents.
The Government Pleader submitted that, while the authority to alter the date of birth had been notified via Government Order dated 30.06.2022, no such notification had been issued to designate an authority for making changes to caste and religion. Accordingly, it was argued that the correction in religion could not be affected under the current framework.
However, it was not disputed by the respondents that the petitioner’s case was factually similar to those allowed in earlier rulings.
The Court examined the petition in light of Rule 3(1), Chapter VI of the KER, 1959. It recorded ,
“The name of a pupil, his religion and his date of birth once entered in the Admission Register shall not be altered except with the sanction of the authority specified by Government in this behalf by notification in the Gazette.”
Addressing the interpretation of the rule, the Court stated , “The heading of the Rule is ‘Alteration of Date of Birth etc’. It is not only for the date of birth. The other changes may also be effected by competent authority which would include religion and caste besides the date of birth.”
In rejecting the objection that a separate authority had not been notified for caste and religion changes, the Court recorded , “When the Statutory Rule prescribes the provision for effecting the changes of the date of birth, religion and caste etc., the same authority, who has been notified by the Government vide Government Order dated 30.06.2022 will be empowered to effect changes in date of birth, caste and religion, etc.”
The Court discussed the constitutional right of religious freedom. It noted , “The Constitution of India gives freedom to the citizens of India of their conscience, faith and religion.” It also quoted Article 25(1): “All persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practice and propagate religion.”
Drawing from the judgments in Sarla Mudgal v. Union of India, Lily Thomas v. Union of India, and Indian Young Lawyers v. State of Kerala, the Court referred to the principle that freedom of religion must be respected so long as it does not impinge on the rights of others.
It concluded, based on these decisions and Rule 3(1) of the KER, that the statutory framework and constitutional provisions together protected the petitioner’s right to religious identity and corresponding changes in public records.
The Court issued a direction to the respondents to carry out the corrections requested by the petitioner concerning his name and religion in the SSLC Book.
It noted that Rule 3(1), Chapter VI of the Kerala Education Rules, 1959, allows for modifications not only in the date of birth but also in caste and religion.
The Bench further stated that the authority notified by the Government to process changes in date of birth is equally competent to effect alterations in caste and religion entries. Based on these findings, the writ petition was allowed with the specified directions.
Advocates Representing the Parties
For the Petitioner: Santheep Ankarath, P. Anirudhan, Advocates
For the Respondents: Parvathy Kottol, Government Pleader
Case Title: Sudhin Krishna C.S. v. State of Kerala & Others
Neutral Citation: 2025:KER:36913
Case Number: WP(C) No. 41609 of 2024
Bench: Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh
[Read/Download order]
