NEW DELHI: India’s top court ruled on Monday that an unwed mother could be the sole legal guardian of her child without naming the father or getting his consent, a verdict hailed by activists.

The single mother had approached the Supreme Court in New Delhi after two other courts told her that she needed to reveal the identity of the biological father and required his consent in order to be the legal guardian of her child.

On Monday, she argued that she had been raising her five-year-old without any help from the father, who she said was married and not aware of the child’s existence, and did not wish to name him to avoid her child being “marred by any controversy regarding his paternity”. Judges Vikramjit Sen and Abhay Manohar Sapre finally ruled that “in this scenario, the interest of the child would be best served by immediately appointing the appellant (the mother) as the guardian”.

Published in Dawn, July 7th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play