Name on SSLC certificate valid unless changed via gazette, says Kerala State Human Rights Commission

In a significant ruling, the Kerala State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has held that the name recorded in school certificates will be treated as the valid name for official purposes unless it is formally changed through a gazette notification.

The observation was made by judicial member K. Baijunath while considering a petition filed by a former woman employee of the Pala Marketing Cooperative Society, who retired in 2022 after 29 years of service.

During the hearing, the society secretary informed the Commission that there had been a delay in forwarding the complainant’s pension documents to the Pension Board due to a discrepancy between the name recorded in the service book and that in the SSLC certificate. The complainant, however, submitted that her SSLC certificate included her father’s name along with hers, and that she had later added her husband’s name after marriage.

The Commission observed that there was no irregularity in the actions of the cooperative society authorities. It further directed that if the pension-related documents had not yet been forwarded to the Pension Board, they should be submitted without further delay.

Mr. Baijunath also directed the secretary of the Pala Marketing Cooperative Society to submit a final report to the Commission within one month, detailing the action taken in the matter.