Karnataka High Court directs Registrar of Births and Deaths to issue revised certificates changing gender of persons certified under Transgender Act  

A file photo of the ‘Karnataka Queer Habba’ Namma Pride Bengaluru march.

The High Court of Karnataka has directed the Registrar of Births and Deaths to issue revised or modified birth or death certificates, changing the gender, indicating both the earlier and the present name and gender of transgender persons. This is to be done till amendments are made to the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, which at present has no provision to revise the original birth or death certificate to change the gender.

The court also asked the Law Commission, Government of Karnataka, to look into the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, and suggest appropriate amendments to the Act of 1969 and the Rules to give effect to the provisions of the Transgender Act in its true letter and spirit.

Justice Suraj Govindaraj issued the direction while disposing of a petition filed by a 34-year-old person, who has undergone gender reassignment surgery from male to female, questioning rejection of her plea by the office of the Registrar of Births and Deaths, Mangaluru City Corporation, to change her name and gender in the original birth certificate.

The court pointed out that the Transgender Act has the provisions for changing name and gender in all the official documents based on the certificate issued by the competent authority after a person undergoes sex-change processes recognised under the law.

Also, the court noted that the list of official documents, in which name, gender and other relevant particulars of persons undergone sex change process could be amended, include even the birth certificate of transgender persons.

However, the court noticed that the Act of 1969 has no provision to issue revised birth certificate to change the gender based on the certificate issued by the competent authority under the Transgender Act.

Though the rejection of the application of the petitioner by the office of the Registrar of Births and Deaths is contrary to the rights guaranteed to transgender persons under the 2019 Act, the court said that no fault can be found with the decision of the authorities as they cannot act beyond the provisions of the Act of 1969.

This situation requires, the court said, its intervention to direct the Registrar of Births and Deaths to issue revised certificates.