ABC Vs. State (NCT of Delhi)
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Head Note
The Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 - Section 7 , Section 11 , Section 19
Unwed mother - Application seeking declaring her the sole guardian of her son - Application dismissed on the ground that name of the father has not been disclosed to issue notice to him Application dismissed on the ground that name of the father has not been disclosed to issue summons to him - Held that the Guardian Court as well as the High Court which was in seisin of the Appeal ought not to have lost sight of the fact that they had been called upon to discharge their parens patriae jurisdiction - Upon a guardianship petition being laid before the Court, the concerned child ceases to be in the exclusive custody of the parents; thereafter, until the attainment of majority, the child continues in curial curatorship - Having received knowledge of a situation that vitally affected the future and welfare of a child, the Courts below could be seen as having been derelict in their duty in merely dismissing the petition without considering all the problems, complexities and complications concerning the child brought within its portals - Guardian Court is directed to recall the dismissal order passed by it and thereafter consider the Appellant's application for guardianship expeditiously without requiring notice to be given to the putative father of the child.
The Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 - Section 7 , Section 11 , Section 19
Unwed mother - Application seeking declaring her the sole guardian of her son - Birth certificate -Held that the identity of the mother is never in doubt - Directed that if a single parent/unwed mother applies for the issuance of a Birth Certificate for a child born from her womb, the Authorities concerned may only require her to furnish an affidavit to this effect, and must thereupon issue the Birth Certificate, unless there is a Court direction to the contrary -It is the responsibility of the State to ensure that no citizen suffers any inconvenience or disadvantage merely because the parents fail or neglect to register the birth - Nay, it is the duty of the State to take requisite steps for recording every birth of every citizen - To remove any possible doubt, the direction pertaining to issuance of the Birth Certificate is intendedly not restricted to the circumstances or the parties before the Court.
The Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 - Section 11
Term parent - Unwed mother - Application seeking declaring her the sole guardian of her son - Application dismissed on the ground that name of the father has not been disclosed to issue notice to him - Held that Section 11 is purely procedural - See no harm or mischief in relaxing its requirements to attain the intendment of the Act - Given that the term "parent" is not defined in the Act, the Court interpreted it, in the case of illegitimate children whose sole caregiver is one of his/her parents, to principally mean that parent alone - Guardianship or custody orders never attain permanence or finality and can be questioned at any time, by any person genuinely concerned for the minor child, if the child's welfare is in peril - The uninvolved parent is therefore not precluded from approaching the Guardian Court to quash, vary or modify its orders if the best interests of the child so indicate - There is thus no mandatory and inflexible procedural requirement of notice to be served to the putative father in connection with a guardianship or custody petition preferred by the natural mother of the child of whom she is the sole caregiver.
The Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 - Section 11
Term parent - Unwed mother - Application seeking declaring her the sole guardian of her son - Application dismissed on the ground that name of the father has not been disclosed to issue notice to him - In a case where one of the parents petitions the Court for appointment as guardian of her child, the provisions of Section 11 would not be directly applicable - Section 11 applies to a situation where the guardianship of a child is sought by a third party, thereby making it essential for the welfare of the child being given in adoption to garner the views of child's natural parents - The views of an uninvolved father are not essential to protect the interests of a child born out of wedlock and being raised solely by his/her mother.
Topic(s)-Guardian - Unwed Mother to be guardian