Mother’s right to select surname of child after husband’s death: SC

Abstract

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, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday, in a judgment that reinforces a woman’s right as a natural guardian of a minor.

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.

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 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.[Read More]