Name Wrong in a Court Order or Case Papers in Uttarakhand
For people who hold a judgment, a decree, a succession certificate or another court paper with their name written wrongly, and find that a bank or an office will not act on it: how a court corrects its own slip, what it will not change, and what to do where the mistake began in your own petition.
A name wrong in a court order is corrected by the court that made the order, on an application by a party. The civil procedure code lets a court correct clerical mistakes and accidental slips in its judgments, decrees and orders at any time. A Gazette cannot do this. Ask the lawyer who appeared in the case.
People keep a court's order as the strongest paper they own. Then a bank or a registry reads it beside an Aadhaar card and hands it back, for one letter. A name wrong in a court order has a known cure, and it lies in the court. This page explains what to do about a name wrong in a court order or other case papers.
We do not file anything in court. That is a lawyer's work. We prepare the Gazette notification, where a name has in fact been changed. The court's power to correct is from the published text of the civil procedure code, and its limits from reported rulings. For a decree used to change a name, read divorce decree as proof for a name change.
What Are the Papers of a Case?
- The first paper. A plaint, a petition or an application, written by the party's lawyer. It names the parties.
- The title of the case. The parties' names at the head of every paper, taken from that first paper.
- Summonses and notices. Sent out by the court's office in those names.
- Orders. What the judge directs from date to date.
- The judgment. The reasons and the decision.
- The decree, or the certificate. The formal paper drawn up from the judgment, which is what offices outside are shown.
- The certified copy. A copy of any of these, made and certified by the court's copying section.
A name passes through four or five hands in this list: the lawyer's clerk, the filing counter, the judge's stenographer, the decree writer and the copyist. A slip can enter at any of them.
What Does the Code Say?
From the published text of sections 152 and 153 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, and from reported rulings on them.
| Point | What the code or rulings say |
|---|---|
| What can be corrected | Clerical or arithmetical mistakes in judgments, decrees or orders, and errors arising in them from any accidental slip or omission |
| When | At any time |
| By whom | The court, of its own motion or on the application of any of the parties |
| A wider power | The court may at any time amend any defect or error in any proceeding in a suit |
| The limit | Rulings confine the first power to clerical and accidental errors. It cannot be used to modify or add to what was decided |
| Whose error | Rulings describe it as a remedy for slips of the court and its staff. A mistake in the pleadings is a different matter |
A misspelt name is the plainest example of a clerical mistake there is. The court meant one person, and its paper names that person badly. Correcting it changes nothing the court decided.
Where Is a Party's Name Written, and by Whom?
| Paper | Written by | If the slip began here |
|---|---|---|
| The plaint or petition | The party's own lawyer | Amend the pleading, and the title with it |
| The title in the court's register | The filing counter | The court's office corrects it on the pleading |
| The judgment or order | The judge, through a stenographer | An application to the same court |
| The decree or certificate | The court's office, from the judgment | The same. A decree is brought into line with the judgment |
| The certified copy | The copying section | A fresh, compared copy |
So the first job is to find the row. Two certified copies settle it: the order that is wrong, and the paper the case started with. Where they disagree, the later one slipped. Where they agree, the mistake is older than the court.
What Kinds of Mistake Are There?
The court's slip
- The petition has the name right, the order or decree has it wrong
- A typing or copying error inside the court
- Corrected on an application, at any time
A slip in your own pleading
- The petition itself gave the name wrongly, and the court copied it
- The court made no error
- The pleading is amended. Your lawyer chooses the application
A name that was right then, and differs now
- The order is correct for the day it was made
- The party has since married, or changed a name
- Nothing in the order is corrected. A linking paper is shown with it
The third is not a mistake at all, and no court will "correct" it. A decree of 2012 in a maiden name is a true record of 2012. The marriage certificate or the Gazette carries it forward.
Which Case Is Yours?
| The situation | Route | Gazette? |
|---|---|---|
| The decree has a spelling slip, the petition is right | An application to the same court | No |
| The decree differs from the judgment | The same. The decree is brought into line | No |
| The petition itself had the name wrong | Amendment of the pleading, as your lawyer advises | No |
| The case is pending and the title is wrong | Have the title corrected now | No |
| Only the certified copy is wrong | A fresh, compared copy from the copying section | No |
| A succession certificate names the deceased differently from the bank | The granting court, or linking papers for the bank | No |
| The order is right, and the party's name has since changed by marriage | The marriage certificate, shown with the order | No |
| The party has since changed a name by choice | The Gazette, shown with the order | Yes |
A Gazette appears once in eight rows, and even there it does not touch the order. It stands beside it.
How Do You Have It Corrected?
This is the general course. Your lawyer decides the application and the court decides it.
Step 1: Get a certified copy of the order, and of the first paper filed
The order or decree that carries the wrong name, and the plaint, petition or application the case began with.
Step 2: Read the name in both
If the first paper has it right and the order has it wrong, the slip is the court's. If both have it wrong, it began with your side.
Step 3: Put your identity papers beside them
Aadhaar, PAN and whichever paper the order has to be used with.
Step 4: Take all three to your lawyer
The one who appeared in the case, if you can. The file and the judge's notes are known to that lawyer.
Step 5: Apply to the same court for the correction
By an application saying what is written, what it should be, and how the slip arose.
Step 6: Serve the other side, where the court directs
A correction of a name is seldom opposed. The court may still want the other party told.
Step 7: Get a fresh certified copy after the order of correction
The corrected decree, or the original with the correcting order. Check it before you leave the copying section.
Step 8: Use the corrected copy, and keep the old one
The office that returned you will want to see both.
What If the Mistake Was in Your Own Petition?
- A petition is drafted from what the client says and the papers the client brings. A clerk types it. The client signs without reading the first line.
- The court then does its work faithfully, on a wrong name.
- Rulings describe the power to correct as a remedy for the court's slips, and have said that mistakes in pleadings are not corrected under it.
- The code has a separate, general power to amend any defect or error in a proceeding, and separate rules for amending pleadings.
- Which of these fits depends on the stage of the case and what the mistake is. That is your lawyer's judgment to make.
- Be frank with the lawyer about where the mistake began. An application that blames the court for the client's slip starts badly.
Where the name in the petition was the name on your papers at the time, and it is the papers that were wrong, the answer may lie outside the court altogether. Read name correction vs name change.
What If the Case Is Still Going On?
- A wrong name in the title of a pending case is repeated on every order and will be repeated on the judgment.
- It is far easier to correct now than after a decree is drawn.
- Tell your lawyer on the next date. The correction is usually asked for by a short application, or noted by the court on a request.
- Summonses and notices issued in a wrong name can also go astray, or be refused at the door.
- A party who marries or changes a name while a case is pending should have the court told, with the paper that proves it.
- Read the first order of your case. If your name is wrong there, it is wrong in the register.
Read motor accident claim name mismatch, where claimants' names are read against several outside papers.
What If Only the Certified Copy Is Wrong?
- A certified copy is typed or photocopied from the court's file by the copying section, and stamped as true.
- Where it is typed afresh, a letter can change in the copying.
- The court's own record is then right, and only your copy is wrong.
- Ask the copying section to compare the copy with the file, and to issue a correct one.
- No application to the judge is needed for a copyist's slip.
- Read a certified copy at the counter, before you leave the building. It is a five-minute habit that saves a month.
Courts now put many orders online. A copy printed from the court's site lets you check what the record says before you spend a day at the copying window.
Where Does the Order Have to Be Used?
| Court paper | Shown to | What that office compares |
|---|---|---|
| A decree of divorce | The passport office, banks, the Aadhaar centre | The parties' names against identity papers |
| A succession certificate or probate | Banks, companies, insurers | The deceased's and the heirs' names against their records |
| A decree about land | The tehsil and the sub-registrar | The names against the land record |
| An award of compensation | The insurer and the bank | The claimants' names against their accounts |
| An adoption or guardianship order | Schools, the passport office | The child's and the parents' names |
| An acquittal or discharge | Employers, the police at verification | The accused's name against identity papers |
None of these offices can overlook a difference in a court's paper. They have no power to read it charitably. Read divorce decree as proof for a name change, will and probate name mismatch and name change after adoption.
What About Criminal and Revenue Papers?
- Criminal courts. A criminal court's power over a judgment it has signed is narrower still. It is generally limited to clerical or arithmetical errors.
- Police papers. A name wrong in a first information report or a charge sheet is taken up with the police and the court during the case, not by an application of the kind above.
- Bail and surety papers. A surety's name is read against identity and property papers. A slip there is corrected in that court.
- After an acquittal. Keep the certified judgment for life. It is asked for at police verification, for a passport and for a job.
- Revenue courts. Orders of the tehsil and revenue courts are corrected under the revenue law, which has its own provisions.
- Tribunals and consumer forums. Each has its own rules, usually with a like power to correct a clerical slip.
We did not read the criminal or the revenue provisions for this page. A lawyer who practises in that court will know them. Read wrong name in an FIR, name mismatch in police verification and character certificate and partition deed name mismatch, which covers a revenue order.
Where Does a Gazette Come In?
Only where the party has changed a name by choice since the order was made. The order stays as it is, and the Gazette is shown with it. A Gazette has no power over a slip in a court's paper.
Step 1: Confirm that it is a change of name, and not a slip in the order
A slip is corrected by the court. A Gazette cannot correct a court's paper.
Step 2: Ask your lawyer how the court should be told of the new name
In a pending case the title is amended. In a finished one the Gazette is shown with the order.
Step 3: Fix the exact new name
The spelling that will go on Aadhaar, PAN and every later paper.
Step 4: Make the affidavit and publish the newspaper notice
Sign before a notary. Publish in a daily local leading newspaper, and keep the original newspaper.
Step 5: Type the form and sign the undertaking
Two typed copies of the specimen, signed in your old name with two witnesses, and the undertaking.
Step 6: Prepare the CD, photographs and certificate
The same text on a CD in MS Word, two self-attested photographs with identity proof, and a certificate that both copies match.
Step 7: Pay the charge on BharatKosh
Commonly Rs 1,100 for an adult. It is not refunded.
Step 8: Send the file yourself, and keep the Gazette with the order
Send it to the Controller of Publications, Department of Publication, Civil Lines, Delhi 110054. The Gazette explains why the order's name and today's differ.
See gazette name change in Uttarakhand and alias name in a Gazette notification.
Which Gazette Should You Use?
It depends on who reads the order next. For a bank, a passport office or anything outside the state, the Gazette of India is the one to use.
Step 1: Ask who will read the order next
A bank, a registry, a passport office or another court.
Step 2: Prefer the Gazette of India where that office is central
Or outside the state.
Step 3: A state office may accept a state notice
Ask it first.
Step 4: Contact the Roorkee press if a state notice suits you
Take the contact from govtpress.uk.gov.in and ask if a private change of name notice is being accepted.
Step 5: Download the notice
Search gazettes.uk.gov.in and save the PDF.
To weigh the two, read Uttarakhand Gazette vs Gazette of India.
Which Mistakes Do People Make?
| Mistake | What to do |
|---|---|
| Signing a petition without reading your own name | Read the title before you sign |
| Leaving a wrong title in a pending case | Have it corrected on the next date |
| Taking a certified copy home unread | Read it at the counter |
| Correcting the order with a pen | Never. That is tampering with a court's record |
| Asking for a Gazette to "fix" a decree | Only the court corrects its paper |
| Swearing an affidavit that the two names are one, in place of a correction | It may help an office for a while. It does not mend the order |
| Asking the court to change what it decided, as a "correction" | That is an appeal or a review, not a correction |
| Waiting until the bank refuses | Check the decree the week it is drawn |
| Going to a new lawyer without the old file | Take the whole file |
A typical case we handle: a woman in Haridwar held a succession certificate for her late husband's bank deposits. The certificate named her "Smt. Sarita Devi wife of Late Rajender Kumar". Her Aadhaar read "Sarita Sharma", and the bank's record of him "Rajendra Kumar Sharma". The bank returned it, and her brother asked us for a Gazette. Nobody had changed a name. Her lawyer found that the petition itself had dropped the surname and misspelt the first name. He applied to the court to amend the petition and correct the certificate, with the death certificate and her marriage certificate. This is an illustrative example of the type of case we handle, not a named client review.
What is a lawyer's job, not ours
Everything inside the court: the application, the amendment, the hearing and the fresh copy.
When you do not need us
For any slip in a court's paper. The court corrects it. We are useful only where a party has changed a name by choice since the order, and a Gazette notification is needed to stand beside it.
Which Areas of Uttarakhand Do We Cover?
All 13 districts: Dehradun, Haridwar, Pauri Garhwal, Tehri Garhwal, Rudraprayag, Chamoli, Uttarkashi, Nainital, Udham Singh Nagar, Almora, Bageshwar, Champawat and Pithoragarh. An order is corrected in the court that made it. The Gazette file, where one is needed, is prepared on WhatsApp.
People Also Ask About a Wrong Name in Court Papers
How do I correct a name in a court order?
By an application to the same court.
Under which section is a clerical mistake in a decree corrected?
Section 152 of the civil procedure code.
Is there a time limit to correct a decree?
The code says at any time.
Can a spelling mistake in a judgment be corrected?
Yes. It is a clerical mistake.
Is a gazette needed for a wrong name in a court order?
No. Only the court corrects its paper.
What if my name was wrong in my own petition?
The pleading is amended. Ask your lawyer.
Which section now governs a clerical error in a criminal judgment?
Section 403 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. Once a court has signed its judgment or final order, it may not alter or review it except to correct a clerical or arithmetical error.
Is section 362 of the old criminal code still used?
Section 403 of the BNSS substantially continues section 362 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. Rulings made under section 362 remain a guide where the two read alike.
Which rule allows a petition or plaint to be amended?
Order VI Rule 17 of the civil procedure code. The court may at any stage allow either party to alter or amend the pleadings, on such terms as may be just.
Can a pleading be amended after the trial has started?
Only narrowly. The proviso to Order VI Rule 17 bars amendment after the trial has begun unless the court finds that, despite due diligence, the party could not have raised the matter earlier.
Is a misspelt party name treated differently from a wrong person?
Yes. Courts ask whether the name used is of a person who does not exist, or merely a misdescription of a real party. A misdescription is ordinarily allowed to be amended.
Can a criminal court review its own judgment for anything other than a slip?
No. After signing, the only correction allowed is of a clerical or arithmetical error, unless the code or another law provides otherwise. Anything more is for an appeal or revision.
Find Out If Your Case Needs a Gazette
Send photos of the order's first page and your Aadhaar. We will tell you, free, if the difference is a slip for the court to correct, or a change of name that needs a Gazette notification beside the order. For a slip there is nothing to pay us for, and we will say so.
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Name Wrong in a Court Order: Frequently Asked Questions
What does name wrong in a court order mean?
Can a court correct a name in its own order?
Who applies for it?
Is there a time limit?
Do I need a Gazette or an affidavit?
The mistake was in my own petition. Can the order still be corrected?
Can the court change more than the spelling?
My case is still going on. Should I wait for the end?
The certified copy has a mistake that the court's file does not. What do I do?
My divorce decree has my name wrong. Can I still use it to change my name on papers?
A succession certificate names my father differently from the bank's record. What then?
The order is from a revenue court or the tehsil. Is it the same?
What about a criminal case?
I was acquitted under a misspelt name. Will that affect police verification?
How long does a correction take?
Do you file applications in court?
People also search for: name correction in court order, correction of decree section 152 CPC, spelling mistake in judgment, name wrong in succession certificate, correction in divorce decree name, amendment of cause title name, BNSS section 403 clerical error judgment, CrPC 362 replaced by BNSS 403, Order 6 Rule 17 amendment of plaint name, amendment after trial commenced due diligence, misdescription of party name amendment, criminal court cannot review judgment.
Who Wrote and Reviewed This Page?
This page is written by the Documentation Desk Team of UttarakhandNameChange.com, the team that prepares Gazette files for people across Uttarakhand.
It is reviewed by Advocate Vipin Chauhan.
That a court may correct clerical or arithmetical mistakes and accidental slips in its judgments, decrees and orders at any time, of its own motion or on a party's application, and that it may amend any defect or error in a proceeding, are from the published text of sections 152 and 153 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. That the first power is confined to clerical and accidental errors, and is a remedy for the court's own slips and not for mistakes in pleadings, is from reported rulings read in summary. We did not read the criminal or the revenue provisions, or the rules on amending pleadings. How a case's papers are made, the copying section and the offices an order is shown to are general knowledge. This page is not legal advice on any case. Your lawyer and the court are the authority.
Official Sources
- India CodeThe Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, with sections 152 and 153.
- eCourts ServicesCase status and orders of district courts.
- High Court of UttarakhandThe High Court at Nainital.
- e-Gazette, Government of IndiaWhere a Gazette of India notice can be checked.
- Department of Publication: Change of Name and Public NoticesThe change of name guideline, for a real change of name.
A Wrong Name in Court Papers: The Short Version
A court corrects its own clerical slips, at any time, on a party's application. Get certified copies of the order and of the paper the case began with, and see where the name went wrong. A slip inside the court is corrected by a short application. A mistake in your own petition means amending it. A copyist's slip needs only a fresh copy. An order that was right when made is not changed for a later marriage or change of name. A linking paper stands beside it.
A Gazette cannot alter a court's paper. To find out if your case needs one at all, send photos on WhatsApp 9540005064, and we will reply in working hours.
Only the Court Corrects the Court's Paper.
Send the order and your Aadhaar on WhatsApp. We tell you, free, if it is a slip or a change of name.