Regarding making father’s name optional in all official government documents
State Level Policy Consultation Meeting
Bengaluru, October 07 (Karnataka News):
Dr. Thippeswamy, former member of the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, expressed his opinion that in this society, many children are mentally depressed, their self-respect is damaged and they are losing their future due to the absence of their father’s name or father’s details. This is not a sign of a healthy society.
He was speaking at the “State-level policy consultation on making the father’s name optional in all official documents” meeting held at a private hotel in the city today in collaboration with the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority, Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights and Children of India Foundation.
He said that this meeting has been organized over the past two days with the aim of identifying and finding solutions to the documentary and administrative hurdles faced while obtaining important government documents such as birth certificates for children, school records, scholarships, various certificates, government schemes, banking and other government services.
He said that the issues that emerged in this two-day state-level policy consultation meeting will be brought to the attention of the central government by drawing attention to them at the central level. The main objective of the consultation is to compile department-wise reports of children, mothers, organizations working in the field of child rights, community representatives and representatives of various departments in this consultation, discuss them with the relevant government officials and formulate further action for necessary administrative and state-level policy changes.
He said that since this issue is directly related to children’s rights, access to public services, and administrative reforms, the cooperation of media organizations and the participation of government departments will give greater public significance to this effort.
The meeting was inaugurated by Sridhar Shetty, Deputy Secretary, Karnataka State Legal Services Authority. The chief guests in the meeting were K. Vandana Gowda, Member, State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Telangana, V. Gandhi Babu, Member, Andhra Pradesh, Hemanth Kumar, Executive Director, Children of India Foundation, and officials from various departments of the state government, including Mrs. Bhavya, Anand, Satish Kumar, and representatives from 11 different districts.
The demands and detailed information that emerged from the policy consultation meeting:
A ‘State Level Policy Consultation on Making Father’s Name Optional in All Official Documents’ was held in Bengaluru on October 06 and 07, 2026 in collaboration with the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority, Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights and Children of India Foundation.
Discussions were held with representatives of various departments, legal experts, civil society organizations, and representatives of families/children experiencing this problem, and opinions were recorded on the obstacles and solutions in the scheme.
Previous advocacy efforts on the children of Devadasi women have documented problems caused by the mandatory inclusion of the father’s name in education application forms, the requirement to include the father’s/husband’s name in bank account and facility applications, and the requirement to include the father’s name in online applications for government jobs.
It is evident from the records that the government also issued letters on 06.02.2023 asking the concerned departments to take action after the state level meeting on 08.12.2022. For example, instructions were sent to the Higher Education Department regarding action to accept mother’s name instead of father/guardian’s name in education forms, to the Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department regarding allowing mother’s name in applications for government posts and to the State Level Bankers Committee regarding acceptance of mother’s/own name in bank forms.
This past experience now needs to be extended to a wider scope. The problem of fathers not being available is not limited to the children of Devadasi women. Children who are protected in cases of newborn abandonment, children of sex workers, children born out of wedlock and brought into government care/protection, children whose fathers are unknown or unavailable, and other children whose mothers are the sole caregivers may also face similar documentation problems at various levels.
Therefore. We request you to take departmental steps to create a comprehensive administrative system at the state level so that the child’s access to education, identity, certificates, social security or other government services is not hindered in cases where the father’s details are not available or cannot be recorded. In cases where it is not legally required, we request you to direct us to take departmental steps to create a comprehensive administrative system at the state level.
1. Department of Women and Child Development – State Level Coordination Responsibility
Establish a state-level coordination mechanism in this regard and prepare comprehensive standard operating procedures and guidelines with the relevant departments.
Conduct a comprehensive state-level review of the deficiencies in the existing rules, schemes and implementation regarding cases where the father’s details are not available, including children of Devadasi women.
Providing clear guidelines to the District Child Protection Unit (DCPU), Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and Child Care Institutions on access to records and services in cases where the father’s details are not available or known.
To record complaints of children and mothers, send them to the relevant department for further action and establish a complaint redressal system to ensure compliance.
2. Department of School Education and Literacy
Check all application forms and online systems related to school admission, student records, examination, transfer/qualification certificates, scholarship and hostel and take steps to avoid making father’s name a mandatory element.
Provide a clear alternative system to accept the mother’s name or legal guardian’s details in cases where the father’s details are not available.
A circular will be issued to implement this at the level of school principals, field education officers and deputy directors of the Department of Public Education.
To ensure that a child is not deprived of admission, examination, scholarship or certificate services due to non-disclosure of father’s details and to establish a complaint redressal system.
3. Department of Higher Education-
Reviewing the mandatory elements of father’s name in application forms for admission, examination, scholarship, hostel and certificate for graduation, post-graduation and other higher education and making arrangements to make father’s details optional.
Issuing uniform instructions to universities and related institutions.
4. Department of Technical Education / (Skills and Vocational Education)
To examine the obstacles arising from the mandatory requirement of father’s name in the entrance and examination websites/application forms of technical education, diploma, industrial training institutes, skill and vocational education.
Changes to the system for receiving mother/guardian details and software and procedures to prevent rejection of applications.
5. Department of Social Welfare
There should be a system to check the application forms/websites for scholarships, hostels, educational facilities and social security schemes and record alternative details in cases where father’s details are not available.
Review the measures proposed in the previous advocacy work regarding scholarships, hostels and other facilities for the children of former Devadasi women. Formulate a general system that can be applied to the current expanded category of children.
Review the requirement of father’s details in applications related to caste, income and other welfare schemes and make provision for making father’s details optional.
6. Revenue Department / Birth and Civil Registration Authorities
To devise a clear alternative mechanism for cases where the father’s details are not available or unknown in birth certificates and other revenue and civil registration processes.
Formulate a standard procedure for record management between the Hospital Child Welfare Committee-District Child Protection Unit-Registrar for abandoned or found newborns.
Clear instructions should be given to the authorities to avoid pressure to provide false or fictitious paternity details.
Establish a system for escalating cases where a certificate application is rejected or returned.
7. Department of Health and Family Welfare
To formulate a standard procedure for birth registration and subsequent preparation of records in cases of newborns abandoned in hospitals or whose parents are unknown.
Establish a clear procedure for medical records and birth records in cases where only the mother’s details are available or the father’s details are unknown.
Issuing a circular on child protection and record keeping procedures to hospital staff.
8. Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms
Verify that the father’s name is a mandatory field in online application forms for government recruitment and make arrangements to accept the mother’s, guardian’s or own details.
Providing uniform instructions to all recruitment agencies and departmental recruitment websites.
Review the implementation of the previous order dated 06.02.2023. If necessary, issue a revised notice to apply it to the expanded category of children.
9. Karnataka State Women’s Development Corporation / Related Women’s Welfare Institutions
Reviewing the implementation of old orders and resolutions related to Devadasi women and children.
To provide necessary field level evidence for inter-departmental coordination on issues related to records of Devadasi children.
Arrangements should be made to connect mothers experiencing this problem with an information and help center or further assistance.
10. Department of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj / Department of Municipal Administration (Urban Local Bodies)
Formulate a uniform procedure for cases where father’s details are not available in Gram Panchayat/Urban Local Bodies’ jurisdiction certificates, welfare scheme applications and local records.
Issuing state-level circulars or standard operating procedures to frontline officers.
Establish a system for sending complaints about application rejections or unnecessary document requests to higher levels for resolution.
11. Banking Sector / State Level Bankers Committee
Review measures to make the name of the father/husband mandatory in all cases for bank account opening, customer identity verification services and other application forms.
Establish a clear system for accepting the details of the mother/parent/guardian in any documents provided by banking services.
To create a system for sending complaints to higher levels for uniform advisory instructions and resolution for bank staff.
12. Authorities related to State e-Governance/Related Information Technology and Application Platforms
Conduct a comprehensive state-level review of the mandatory entry points and verification rules for father’s name in government online application forms.
Legal alternatives of ‘Father’s name not available/not known’ or ‘not available/not disclosed’, and inclusion of elements to record mother/guardian details where necessary.
Necessary changes will be made to the software to ensure that the application is not automatically rejected due to background check rules.
Formulate common design standards and apply them to the websites of various departments.
13. Department of Labour
Necessary steps should be taken to ensure that the father’s name is not made mandatory during recruitment in the government, semi-government and private human resource development departments.
14. Child Protection System – District Child Protection Unit, Child Welfare Committee and Child Care Institutions
To standardize the continuous documentation process in cases of abandoned, surrendered, missing or children of unknown parents and in institutional care.
Inter-departmental coordination to obtain birth and identity documents based on Child Welfare Committee orders and child care records.
Maintaining records to protect children’s privacy and future identity rights.
15. Request for comprehensive state-level action
To create an inter-departmental review and coordination mechanism with senior officers of the relevant departments under the chairmanship of the Hon’ble Chief Secretary.
All departments are advised to conduct a comprehensive review and report on the mandatory inclusion of father’s name in their application forms, online applications, certificates, schemes and service delivery processes.
Formulate a uniform policy to accept the mother/guardian/guardian’s/own details in cases where the father’s details are not available, unknown or cannot be disclosed, except in cases where the father’s details are legally required.
Issuance of a state-level circular clarifying the basic administrative principle that a child’s rights or services should not be denied simply due to lack of paternity details.
The implementation of this circular/instructions will be reviewed within six months and a compliance report will be obtained.
If necessary, the relevant departments are advised to submit separate proposals for amendments to the current government orders, rules, application forms, software and departmental instructions.
