Mariammal v. The Director Of Public Health And Preventive Medicine
BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT DATED: 09.06.2026
CORAM
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE HEMANT CHANDANGOUDAR Writ Petition(MD)No.10140 of 2026 and W.M.P(MD)Nos.7991 & 7992 of 2026 Mariammal .. Petitioner Vs 1.The Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, No.359, Anna Salai, Teynampet, Chennai - 600 006. 2.The District Collector, Nagercoil, Kanyakumari District.
3.The Registrar of Births and Deaths Nagercoil Corporation, Kanyakumari District.
4.Jayaramakani ..Respondents Prayer: Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, praying this Court to issue a Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus a to call for the records of the impugned order in Na.Ka. No. 794/2025/H3 dated 26.12.2025 passed by the 3rd Respondent and quash the same as illegal and consequently direct the 3rd Respondent 1/5
to delete the 4th Respondent's name shown as wife in the death certificate bearing Registration No.D-2025 33-18791- 000231 dated 03.11.2025 and include petitioner's name as wife and issue fresh death certificate.
For Petitioner : Mr.S.John Abraham Raja For Respondents : Mr.M.Mahaboob Athiff Govt. Advocate for R1 to R3 No appearance for R4
ORDER
The petitioner challenges the order dated 26.12.2025 passed by the third respondent, whereby the petitioner's application seeking substitution of her name in place of the fourth respondent as the wife of the deceased Hariharan in the death certificate dated 03.11.2025 came to be rejected.
2.The petitioner claims to be the legally wedded first wife of the deceased Hariharan and states that three children were born out of the said wedlock. According to the petitioner, Hariharan died on 26.10.2025 at Bethesda Hospital. It is her case that, based on the information furnished by the hospital authorities, the name of the 2/5
fourth respondent was recorded as the wife of the deceased in the death certificate.
3.Upon coming to know of the said entry, the petitioner submitted an application before the third respondent seeking deletion of the name of the fourth respondent and substitution of her own name as the wife of the deceased Hariharan. The said request came to be rejected by the impugned proceedings.
4.Heard the learned counsel appearing on either side and perused the materials available on record.
5.Though the petitioner claims to be the legally wedded wife of the deceased, the fourth respondent also asserts a similar claim. Thus, there are rival claims regarding the marital status of the deceased Hariharan and the identity of his lawful spouse. 6.The determination of such rival claims involves disputed questions of fact, which cannot be conclusively adjudicated by the third respondent in summary proceedings relating to correction of entries in a death certificate. In the absence of a declaration by a competent Civil Court, the third respondent was justified in declining 3/5
the petitioner's request and in directing the parties to seek appropriate relief before the competent forum. 7.Having regard to the nature of the dispute, this Court finds no illegality, arbitrariness or infirmity in the order passed by the third respondent warranting interference under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.
8.Accordingly, the writ petition stands disposed of, reserving liberty to the petitioner to approach the jurisdictional Civil Court and seek appropriate declaratory and consequential reliefs in accordance with law.
9.There shall be no order as to costs. Consequently, the connected miscellaneous petitions are closed. 09.06.2026 NCC : Yes/No Index : Yes/No Internet:Yes skn 4/5
HEMANT CHANDANGOUDAR, J.
skn Writ Petition(MD)No.10140 of 2026 and W.M.P(MD)Nos.7991 & 7992 of 2026 09.06.2026 5/5