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 that change officially recorded in school documents.

In a recent judgment in Sudhin Krishna CS v. State of Kerala, Justice DK Singh emphasized that the freedom of religion guaranteed under Article 25 includes the right to not only believe in and practice a religion but also to voluntarily convert without coercion or fraud.

“If a person has changed his religion without any coercion, fraud, undue influence etc., such an act would be protected under the Constitution... every person has a fundamental right not merely to entertain the religious belief of his choice but also to exhibit this belief and ideas,” the Court observed.

The petitioner, Sudhin Krishna CS, was born to a Muslim father and a Hindu mother and raised by his mother in Palakkad, Kerala, following Hindu customs. However, his school records identified him as ‘Mohammed Riyazudeen CS’, with religion noted as ‘Islam, Mappila’.

Upon attaining adulthood, the petitioner chose to formally convert to Hinduism through Arya Samaj and changed his name to Sudhin Krishna CS via a gazette notification. He then applied to have these changes reflected in his Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC).

However, the request was denied by school authorities, citing the absence of any explicit provision in the Kerala Education Act and Rules for updating caste or religion in school records.

Court's Analysis and Findings

Challenging this rejection, the petitioner argued that Rule 3(1) of Chapter VI of the Kerala Education Rules, 1959 permits such corrections. The government pleader, opposing the plea, maintained that only date of birth corrections were allowed and that no authority had been notified to change caste or religion in school records.

The Court, however, rejected this argument, stating that the same authority designated for correcting the date of birth is also empowered to make changes related to name, caste, and religion under the existing rules.

“There can't be multiple authorities for effecting the changes in date of birth, caste, and religion,” the Court stated.

Court’s Direction

The Court directed the Commissioner of Examination to process and allow the correction of the petitioner’s name and religion in the school records. It reiterated that Rule 3(1), Chapter VI of the Kerala Education Rules, 1959 authorizes changes not just in the date of birth, but also in caste and religion.

Representation

The petitioner was represented by Advocates Santheep Ankarath and P Anirudhan, while Government Pleader Parvathy Kottol appeared for the State.