The High Court has observed that to have a name and to express it in the manner they wish is part of the right to freedom of speech and expression under Article 19 (1) (a) and the right to liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.
Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas made the observation on Monday while allowing a plea by a student for a directive to the CBSE to correct her name in school records.
The court said that name was something very personal to an individual. It was an expression of one’s individuality, one’s identity and one’s uniqueness. It was the foundation on which he/she moves around in a civil society.
In a democracy, free expression of one’s name in the manner he/she prefers is a facet of individual right. The State or its instrumentalities cannot stand in the way of use of any name preferred by an individual, the court added.
Dinky Gupta, daughter of Prakash Gupta of Mattanchery, had changed her name to Kashish Gupta by a gazette notification in 2017. However, the CBSE refused to correct her name in the school records despite her request. The court directed the Regional Officer, CBSE, Thiruvananthapuram, to correct the name in the certificate within six weeks.
