Legal documents are often the proof of veracity of identity of a person. Most legal documents, contain, at the minimum, details pertaining to name of the person, date of the birth, permanent residential address and some relation specifics such as names of guardian or spouse.
People often wonder how to change their names in such legal documents if the need so arises. This blog seeks to throw light on the importance of having the correct name on all such legal documents and also provides in brief, in the concluding paragraph, the summary procedure for changing one’s name.
India is a democracy, with the government also being a welfare state. Therefore, time and again, the policy makers of India, draft policies which are beneficial to the public in nature. However, India is also a country with the second largest population. This often makes it difficult for the government to reach every nook and corner of this country. Therefore, more often than not, people have to approach the public authorities to avail the benefits that have been decided upon for them. When they do so, the public authorities are bound to verify their identities and, in furtherance of the same, are likely to ask for copy of some legal documents, such as birth certificate, passport, aadhar card, driving license etc. If the person’s name on the document, does not match with the record in possession with the public authority, the authority shall not only refuse to provide the person with the benefit, it shall also be very skeptical of the intention of the party and is the authority raises suspicion, it is also entitled to bring about charges of impersonation against the person.
A classic example of such a scheme can be availing the benefits under the LPG subsidiary scheme.
In addition, employers also verify the identity of their potential employees while hiring someone and transfer of remuneration etc. is also done in those accounts only, the details of which reflect the true identity of a person after having matched them with a legal document, issued by either the Central or State government, or in some cases, even by a local body.
Also, in cases where a person wants to undertake foreign travel, the embassy of the foreign jurisdiction shall only accept valid legal documents issued by the government of India and the veracity of which has been duly cross checked. Lest, the foreign authority shall deprive this person of a visa or other residential permits as the case may be.
Last, but not the least, it is important that a person have correctly mentioned names in all legal documents for the purposes of any legal proceedings that might be initiated against such person. The presiding officer of the court shall in all circumstances verify the identity of the parties, both, the plaintiff as well as the defendant, before commencing the proceedings. Even in criminal proceedings, the magistrate verifies that the person arrested is the same as the one names in the charge-sheet.
For all the purposes mentioned above, it is important that every person ensure that his or her name has been correctly mentioned in all the legal documents, to prevent any troubles that might arise in the future due to the same.
