Source – indianexpress.com<\/p>\n
Hearing the case of a 24-year-old transgender person seeking to change her name from Rahul Sharma to Riya Sharma, the Delhi High Court Monday asked the petitioner \u201cif it was so easy to change names in Class X and XII certificates at this stage\u201d.<\/p>\n
A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar took a hypothetical example of \u201ca woman, who has availed all benefits under various schemes for women, wanting to change her name from female to male\u201d. \u201cIn that example, retrospectively, can it be looked back at this stage?\u201d Justice Mittal observed.<\/p>\n
The bench went on to give another hypothetical example of a woman \u201cwho represented India at an international level as a female athlete\u201d. The bench asked the petitioner\u2019s counsel if \u201cthis aspect has been thought about\u201d.<\/p>\n
It also asked \u201cwhether the counsel has checked the law related to the issue on other forums, and if this has been tested on international forums\u201d. It asked Sharma\u2019s counsel Yashraj Singh Deora to file a written submission on the above aspect by July 25. The petitioner has been fighting the case since 2017 to change her name in Class X and XII certificates issued by the CBSE. The CBSE had stated that \u201cin the absence of a provision for change of name of candidate after declaration of results in its byelaws, the petitioner does not have a vested right to seek change of name in CBSE certificates\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Delhi University had replied that \u201cno relief can be granted to her and her case has no merit\u201d. On Monday, the bench observed orally that \u201cthis is not considered an absolute fundamental right under the Constitution of India\u201d.<\/p>\n