A 24-year-old Bengaluru woman who sought to change her name on an astrologer’s advice, hoping it would improve her career prospects, secured a partial victory in court after the government authorities refused her request. Emphasising that a person’s name is closely tied to their identity and that an individual’s wishes deserve respect, the court declared her new name and ordered changes to her educational records, while leaving the correction of other official documents to the prescribed legal procedures.

The VIII Additional City Civil and Sessions Judge Vani A Shetty delivered the judgment while hearing a suit filed against authorities responsible for birth registration, educational records, Aadhaar, PAN and passports.

“The change of the name of the plaintiff in no way affects the administration or cause inconvenience to any of the parties.…