Birth Certificate Issue: Delhi HC Grants Student Permission to Play Cricket

The Delhi High Court has granted permission to a student, who was initially barred from participating in a cricket match organized by the Directorate of Education due to a delay in the issuance of his birth certificate, to take part in the competition.

The 13-year-old student challenged one of the requirements outlined in the circular issued by the Delhi government’s Directorate of Education (Sports branch).

The circular stipulates that the student’s birth certificate must be issued within one year of their date of birth. In this case, the student’s birth certificate was issued three years after his birth.

The court considered the student’s bright future and his role as the captain of the cricket team at Delhi Public School, R K Puram.

In the interim order, a bench of Justice Subramonium Prasad emphasized that the student’s career should not be jeopardized due to the inability to produce a birth certificate issued by the municipality within one year of his birth.

The court pointed out that there was no dispute about the accuracy of the birth certificate issued by the municipality in Patna.

“In the interest of justice, this court is inclined to permit the petitioner herein to participate and represent the school in the discipline of cricket in the ensuing Delhi State School Games (Under-14 Cricket) for the year 2023-24, which is being conducted from October 18, 2023, to October 31, 2023,” the court ruled.

The student, represented by advocate Chandra Prakash, challenged the requirement to produce a birth certificate issued by the municipal authority within one year of the student’s date of birth to participate in the Delhi State School Games (Under-14 Cricket) for the year 2023-24.

The games were scheduled from October 18 to 31, with the student’s match set for October 26. The petitioner’s counsel explained that the student was born in Patna, Bihar, and later moved to Delhi, where his father was employed.

The student was admitted to Delhi Public School, R K Puram, based on the birth certificate issued by the municipality in Patna, even though it was issued three years after his birth.

The lawyer argued that similar petitions on this issue are currently pending before the high court, which had directed the state government to consider the feasibility of maintaining such a clause.

This requirement poses significant challenges for students from rural backgrounds who do not possess birth certificates issued within one year of their birth, and they should not be denied participation in the games on this basis, the lawyer contended.