Karnataka High Court
The court made this observation while allowing the appeal filed by a 16-year-old Bengaluru girl through her father, Ningegowda. He had approached the civil court in 2024 seeking to change his daughter’s name from Lakshmi N to Veena N, based on astrological/numerological advice. However, on Jan 20, 2026, the civil court dismissed the petition on the ground that the public notice issued for name change was not produced and that the plaintiff had not approached the school where she was studying, seeking change of the name of the girl in the school records and other records. The school does not have the authority to change the name of the plaintiff in the school or in any other record, the judge stated in the Sept 17 order.
Therefore, for correction or change of name, filing a suit before the civil court is maintainable, as it relates to the adjudication of a civil right. Therefore, for change of the name of a candidate, the competent civil court has jurisdiction as per Section 9 of Civil Procedure Code, the judge added. Bengaluru: The high court has observed that a school has no authority to change the name of any student in its or in any other records and that the only recourse available in such a situation is to file a suit and obtain a decree from the competent civil court. In the appeal filed against the civil court’s order, Ningegowda produced the public notice issued for change of his daughter’s name. After perusing the materials on record, Justice Hanchate Sanjeevkumar pointed out that it is a civil right of every citizen in India to be recognised by his/her name. The civil court has assigned the reason that the parents of the plaintiff girl have not approached the school seeking change of her name in the school and other records.