Government's Notice On Married Women Using Maiden Name Challenged In Court

The Delhi High Court on Thursday sought a response from the Centre on a plea challenging a notification issued by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs relating to the use of maiden names by married women.

The plea stated that the said notification mandated that if a married woman, wishes to obtain a maiden surname, she will have to submit a company decree of divorce or an NOC certificate from her husband, that he has no objection if she uses a maiden surname, and has to submit a copy of identification proof and mobile number.

The plea further alleged that the impugned notification is patently discriminatory, arbitrary, unreasonable, and violates the Petitioner's fundamental rights under Articles 14, 19, and 21 of the Constitution of India. For such reasons, it deserves to be quashed at the outset.

The Impugned notification displays evident gender bias and constitutes a form of impermissible discrimination by imposing additional and disproportionate requisites exclusively on women, as mentioned in the petition.

The bench of Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora on Thursday issued notice to the Union of India through the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and listed the matter for further hearing on May 28, 2024.

The petitioner Divya Modi was represented by Ruby Singh Ahuja, Senior Partner, Vishal Gehrana, Hancy Maini, Devang Kumar, and Uzma Sheikh of Karanjawala and Co.

The plea sought court direction to restrain the statutory authorities from imposing and implementing the requirements laid down under the notification.

It also sought to issue an appropriate direction against respondent and other statutory authorities to process the name change applications without insisting upon fulfilling the requirements under the Notification, ensuring a more straight forward and constitutionally compliant procedure.