The Supreme Court on July 28 ruled that a mother, being the only natural guardian of the child, has the right to decide the surname of the child, and even after the demise of her first husband, cannot be restrained from including the child in her new family and deciding the surname.
- The ruling by the bench came while setting aside a 2014 judgment of the Andhra Pradesh high court, which directed a woman to restore to her child the surname of her dead husband and also ensure that the deceased’s name is mentioned at all places as the father of the child in official records.
Supreme Court’s observations
- A bench of Dinesh Maheshwari and Krishna Murari bore down on a mother’s right to decide what’s in the best interest of the child after the demise of her husband, underlining that she must have the full freedom to choose the child’s surname.
- A mother has an absolute right to decide the child’s surname after the death of her husband and that she cannot be compelled to keep using the deceased’s surname in the records of the child.
- If she remarries, the court noted, the child can be given the surname of her second husband or the mother can even give up the child for adoption if the act entails the paramount interest of the minor.
- The apex court noted that in the case of Githa Hariharan and Ors. vs. Reserve Bank of India and others, the apex court elevated the mother to an equal position as the father, bolstering her right as a natural guardian of the minor child under Section 6 of the Hindu Minority and Adoption Act, 1956.
- The bench pointed out that surname is not just indicative of lineage and should not be understood just in context of history, culture and lineage.
- A name is important as a child derives his identity from it and a difference in name from his family will act as a constant reminder of the factum of adoption and expose the child to unnecessary questions hindering a smooth, natural relationship between him and his parents.
- The court cited Section 9(3) of the 1956 Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, which provides that the mother may give the child for adoption if the father is dead or has completely and finally renounced the world or has ceased to be a Hindu or has been declared by a Court of competent jurisdiction to be of unsound mind.
