Context
The Goa Assembly passed another amendment Bill, tightening the restrictions. To change one’s name now, one will need to have their birth registered in Goa, and either a parent or a grandparent born in Goa.
What is the new amendment to the Change of Name Act?
- The Goa Change of Name and Surname (Amendment) Bill, 2022 amends Sections 2 and 3 of the Goa Change of Name and Surname Act, 1990.
- In Section 2, two clauses have been omitted, pertaining to the definitions of registrar and chief registrar.
- Under Section 3, the power to permit name changes, which were earlier vested in the registrar or the Chief Registrar of the state, have now been placed with “Civil Judge Junior Division” or a “District Judge” — in effect, with the judiciary rather than with the government.
What prompted the government to bring an amendment?
- The Amendment Bill passed is the sequel to the 2019 amendment to the 1990 Act.
- While the original legislation had laid down the rules for carrying out changes in one’s name and surname – through the registrar, with necessary documents as proof, after issuing advertisements in newspapers – the 2019 amendment made it a cognisible offence to carry out such changes in breach of the stipulated norms.
- The latest amendment also stems from allegations made by several communities – including the numerically strong Bhandaris — and MLAs across party lines over changes in names and surnames advertised in newspapers by ‘outsiders’ who had adopted Goan names and surnames, allegedly in order to avail benefits under government schemes, or to buy or inherit land or even apply for Portuguese passports.
