In a significant ruling, the Kerala High Court has held that a person who voluntarily changes their religion has a fundamental right under Article 25 of the Constitution to have the change recorded in official school documents.
Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh, delivering the judgment in Sudhin Krishna CS v. State of Kerala, clarified that “if a person has changed his religion without any coercion, fraud, undue influence etc, such an act would be protected under the Constitution of India under the preamble as well as Article 25.”
The petitioner, born to a Muslim father and a Hindu mother, was registered in school as ‘Mohammed Riyazudeen CS’ with his religion recorded as ‘Islam, Mappila’. Raised in Palakkad by his mother following Hindu customs, he later officially converted to Hinduism through Arya Samaj and changed his name to Sudhin Krishna CS, also publishing a Gazette notification.
However, when he sought to update his Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC), the request was denied on the ground that Kerala Education Rules did not allow changes to religion and caste in school records.
Rejecting this stance, the Court held that “under the constitutional scheme, every person has a fundamental right not merely to entertain the religious belief of his choice but also to exhibit this belief and ideas in manner which does not infringe the religious right and personal freedom of others.”
The government contended that the Commissioner of Examinations was empowered only to correct date of birth. But the Court observed otherwise, stating:
“There can’t be multiple authorities for effecting the changes in date of birth, caste and religion.”
It clarified that Rule 3(1), Chapter VI of the Kerala Education Rules, 1959, allows such changes, and that the same authority empowered to correct date of birth is also competent to amend name, caste, and religion.
The Court accordingly directed the Commissioner of Examinations to process and allow the correction of the petitioner’s name and religion in the school records.
Case: Sudhin Krishna CS vs State of Kerala – Available on LAWFYI.IO
