Registration of Births and Deaths Act (18 of 1969), S. 17 — Constitution of India, Art. 226 — Issue of Death Certificate — Rejection on ground of family disputes — Validity — Statutory Duty of Registrar — Petitioner-wife applied for the death certificate of her late husband who passed away in a hospital — Municipal Corporation rejected the application vide endorsement citing existence of disputes among the family members of the deceased — Held, under S. 17 of the Act, any person is entitled to search the register and obtain a certified extract of a birth or death record — The Registrar is a public servant and the register of births and deaths is a public document — There is no statutory provision permitting the refusal or withholding of a death certificate on the ground of family disputes — Refusal to issue the death certificate on such pretext is illegal, arbitrary, and unsustainable — Impugned endorsement set aside and Municipal Corporation directed to issue the death certificate within four weeks. (Paras 3, 5, 6)

advocatemmmohan

(ANDHRA PRADESH HIGH COURT AT AMARAVATI)

V. SUJATHA, J.

Writ Petition No. 2863 of 2025, D/- 6-2-2025.

HEADNOTES

(A) Registration of Births and Deaths Act (18 of 1969), S. 17 — Constitution of India, Art. 226 — Issue of Death Certificate — Rejection on ground of family disputes — Validity — Statutory Duty of Registrar — Petitioner-wife applied for the death certificate of her late husband who passed away in a hospital — Municipal Corporation rejected the application vide endorsement citing existence of disputes among the family members of the deceased — Held, under S. 17 of the Act, any person is entitled to search the register and obtain a certified extract of a birth or death record — The Registrar is a public servant and the register of births and deaths is a public document — There is no statutory provision permitting the refusal or withholding of a death certificate on the ground of family disputes — Refusal to issue the death certificate on such pretext is illegal, arbitrary, and unsustainable — Impugned endorsement set aside and Municipal Corporation directed to issue the death certificate within four weeks.

(Paras 3, 5, 6)

(B) Registration of Births and Deaths Act (18 of 1969), S. 17(2) — Indian Evidence Act (1 of 1872), S. 76 — Public Document — Admissibility of Extracts — Register of births and deaths maintained by the Registrar is a public document under law — Extract certified by the Registrar or authorized officer is admissible in evidence for proving the occurrence of birth or death to which the entry relates — Administrative authorities cannot refuse access to or issuance of certified copies of such statutory public records owing to private inter-se family disputes.

(Paras 4, 5)