Gujarat HC Held That A Registered Deed Of Adoption With A Registrar Is Adequate Evidence To Establish A Child's Adoption

Case: Khojema Saifudin Dodiya vs Registrar, Birth, and Death

In a recent ruling, the Gujarat High Court determined that a registered deed of adoption with a registrar is adequate evidence to establish a child's adoption, and a civil court decree affirming the deed is unnecessary. Justice Biren Vaishnav, a single judge, disagreed with a previous decision of the Bombay High Court that maintained that a civil court could only determine the legality of the adoption and the compliance with due procedures. The Bombay High Court also suggested that removing the biological father's name from a child's birth certificate could have significant implications.

The bench considered a plea from a woman who wanted to alter the middle and last names of her son. The woman had a child from her initial marriage and later divorced her first husband. She subsequently married another man, and since she had custody of her son, she and her new husband adopted him. Following the adoption, they wanted to replace the biological father's name on the child's birth certificate with the name of the second husband.

Nonetheless, the authorities in charge denied their request on the basis that they had only provided the adoption deed and not a court decree to support their claim.

Justice Vaishnav, in his ruling, cited a previous decision by another judge of the Gujarat High Court. According to section 16 of the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act of 1956, if an adoption deed is registered, there is a presumption in favor of the documents about the adoption. The presumption is that the adoption conforms to the Act's provisions unless it is disproved. However, the authorities involved in the case presented to Justice Vaishnav contended that the Bombay High Court had determined that the presumption under section 16 of the Act must be established before a competent court, not merely with a registrar. Nonetheless, the Gujarat High Court rejected this assertion.

Consequently, the court quashed the civic authorities' orders and ordered the registrar to make the changes requested.