New Delhi: “ Mother being the natural guardian of the child after the demise of the father has the right to decide the surname,” the Supreme Court ruled Thursday while setting aside an order of the Andhra Pradesh High Court which directed a woman to include the name of her second husband in records as a stepfather.

A bench of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Krishna Murari said the direction of the High Court to include the name of the woman's second husband as a "stepfather" in documents is "almost cruel and mindless of how it would impact the mental health and self-esteem of the child."

"To obviate any uncertainty it is reiterated that the mother being the only natural guardian of the child has the right to decide the surname of the child. She also has the right to give the child up for adoption. 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

The top court was dealing with a case between the mother, who remarried after the death of her first husband, and the parents of the deceased biological father of the child about the surname that should be given to the child who is now aged 16.

The bench said after the demise of her first husband, being the only natural guardian of the child, how can the mother be lawfully restrained from including the child in her new family and deciding the surname.

The top court said that a name is important as a child derives his identity from it and a 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. "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 bench said.

Regarding the woman’s right to give up the child for adoption, the court cited Section 9(3) of the 1956 Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, which provides that the mother may give up 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.

“She also has the right to give the child in adoption,” declared the bench. (With inputs from PTI)

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