Mother has the right to decide surname of child after husband's death: SC

New Delhi, July 29: The Supreme Court on Thursday said a mother has the right to decide the surname of the child following the death of its father.

A bench of justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Krishna Murari said that the mother, being the only natural guardian, can give the name of her second husband.

"After the demise of her first husband, being the only natural guardian of the child we fail to see how the mother can be lawfully restrained from including the child in her new family and deciding the surname of the child," ANI quoted the top court as saying.

A surname refers to the name a person shares with other members of that person's family, distinguished from that person's given name or names; a family name, the court noted. "Surname is not only indicative of lineage and should not be understood just in the context of history, culture and lineage but more importantly the role it plays with regard to the social reality along with a sense of being for children in their particular environment. Homogeneity of surname emerges as a mode to create, sustain and display 'family'," the apex court stated.

The verdict was delivered while deciding on a dispute between a woman and her parents-in-law relating to the surname of her child. The woman had remarried following the demise of her husband. The court was dealing with a plea challenging judgment dated January 24, 2014 passed by the High Court of Andhra Pradesh. In these appeals, the subject matter of dispute between the mother and the parents of the deceased father of the child (grandparents) is the surname given to the child.

The top court while passing an order in favour of the mother to choose the surname of her child, said, "A name is important as a child derives his identity from it and a the difference in name from his family would 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 top court set aside the direction of the High Court to include the name of the appellant's husband as step-father in documents and said that it is almost cruel and mindless of how it would impact the mental health and self-esteem of the child.

"Before parting with this subject, to obviate any uncertainty it is reiterated that the mother is the only natural guardian of the child and has the right to decide the surname of the child. She also has the right to give up the child for adoption. The Court may have the power to intervene but only when a prayer specific to that effect is made and such prayer must be centred on the premise that a child's interest is the primary consideration and it outweighs all other considerations," the court said.