APHC010001962025 IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT AMARAVATI (Special Original Jurisdiction) [3333] WEDNESDAY, THE EIGHTH DAY OF JANUARY TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY FIVE PRESENT THE HONOURABLE SMT JUSTICE V.SUJATHA WRIT PETITION NO: 97/2025 Between: Pondrati Savithri ...PETITIONER AND The State Of Ap and Others ...RESPONDENT(S) Counsel for the Petitioner: 1. S V R SUBRAHMANYAM Counsel for the Respondent(S): 1. GP FOR MUNCIPAL ADMN URBAN DEV The Court made the following: ORDER: This Writ Petition is filed by the petitioner, under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking Mandamus, for the following relief: “…to issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ or direction declaring the action of the 4th respondent in not issuing Death Certificate of Late Pondrati Dharma Rao as illegal, arbitrary and violation of provisions of section 17 of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act (Act No.18 of 1969) and section 76 of Indian Evidence Act, 1872 and consequently direct the respondents to issue Death Certificate of Late Pondrati Dharma Rao to the petitioner…” 2. The case of the petitioner is that the petitioner married one Pondrati Dharma Rao in the year 1989 as per Hindu Rites and Customs. While so, the petitioner’s husband died while undergoing treatment in Queen’s NRI Hospital, Seethammadara, Visakhapatnam on 13.11.2024 at 10.37 a.m. in the said hospital. The petitioner applied for issuance of death certificate of her husband before the 4th respondent and as the same was not furnished to her, she placed the matter before the 3rd respondent through public grievance redressal system vide grievance No.VSP202412161429, dated 16.12.2024. To which, the 3rd respondent issued an endorsement on 30.12.2024 informing that as there is a family dispute among family members, the required death certificate will be issued after exhausting the said dispute. Challenging the action of respondent No.4, the present writ petition is filed. 3. As per Section 17 of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, any person may obtain extract from the register and it is the statutory duty of the respondent to issue death certificate on an application made by any person, which reads thus:- Search of Births and Deaths Register: 1. Subject to any rule made in this behalf by the State Government, including rules relating to the payment of fees and postal charges, any person may- (a) cause a search to be made by the Registrar for any entry in a register of births and deaths; (b) obtain, electronically or otherwise, a certificate of birth or death from such register and issued in such form and manner as may be prescribed: Provided that no certificate relating to any death, issued to any person, shall disclose the particulars regarding the cause of death as entered in the register. 2. All certificates given under this section shall be certified by the Registrar or any other officer authorised by the State Government to give such extracts as provided in section 76 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (1 of 1872), and shall be admissible in evidence for the purpose of proving the birth or death to which the entry relates. 4. As can seen from the above section, it is clear that the person who is recognized as Registrar for the purpose of registration of births and deaths is a public servant and the register where the births and deaths are noted is a public document. As per provisions of Section 17 of the Act, any person may obtain extract from that register. It is the statutory duty of the respondent to issue death certificate and there is no provision of law to stop issuance of death certificate on one pretext or the other. 5. In view of the same, the Writ Petition is disposed of, directing the 4th respondent to issue death certificate of one Pondrati Dharma Rao to the petitioner, within a period of four (4) weeks, from the date of receipt of copy of this order. No order as to costs. Consequently miscellaneous applications pending, if any, in the Writ Petition, shall also stand closed. ___________________ JUSTICE V.SUJATHA Date : 08.01.2025 JLV 85 HON’BLE SMT. JUSTICE V.SUJATHA W.P.No.97 of 2025 Dt.08.01.2025 JLV