‘They are living beings’: HP HC orders registration of children from 2nd marriage

Shimla: In a landmark ruling, the Himachal Pradesh High Court has directed the panchayat authorities to include the names of three children, born from a second marriage, in the official birth and family records.

The decision marks the conclusion of a prolonged legal battle fought by the children’s mother to secure official recognition for them.

Allowing a petition filed by the mother seeking the HC’s direction to the panchayat records, Justice Jyotsna Rewal Dua said the children’s right to registration was independent of the validity of their parents’ marriage, and it was crucial for their legal and social recognition as “they are also living beings”. The petition was filed by the mother-natural guardian of three minors, aged 12, 9 and 5, seeking a directive to include her children’s names in the panchayat’s records.

In her petition, she informed the court about the harassment they faced because of the panchayat’s refusal to register their names.

This, she said, is because of interpretation of the Section 4(a) of the Special Marriage Act, 1954, which prohibits a person from remarrying if they have a living spouse.

The facts of the case related to Balwinder Singh, who married Neeraj Bala in 2010 while his first wife Santosh Kumari was alive. It was Santosh who gave consent and NOC to her husband to solemnise the second marriage as she was ailing and had health issues.

Later, three children were born from Neeraj, but both she and her husband started facing problems in getting the names of the children registered in the official register of births as maintained by the Panchayat.

In her detailed ruling, Dua emphasised the responsibility of Panchayat officials under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, to register all births, regardless of the parents’ marital status. The court dismissed the objections raised by the respondents as legally baseless and instructed them to complete the registration.