Delhi HC Observed That A Child Has The Right To Use Their Mother’s Surname. We’re Glad This Has Been Said!

It low-key sucks that we cannot pick our own names when we’re born. It can be done when we are older, but the sheer amount of paperwork that takes might easily deter someone from doing it unless the circumstances are extenuating. For women, for a long time, this was an inevitable rite of passage because their surname would change after marriage. But perhaps, what always felt blatantly unfair was that women would go on to bear children, raise them, and yet the child would bear the father’s name as a part of their identity. It’s a patriarchal concept that needed to he done away with. And looks like Delhi HC has taken a step to further this agenda by observing in a case that a child has the right to use their mother’s last name as their surname instead of the father’s.

And no, the father cannot force the child to keep his surname instead.

On Friday, the Delhi High Court was hearing a plea filed by father who sought the court’s direction in the matter of his daughter’s surname which he wished to be reflected in school record documents with his own last name and not his estranged wife’s. The father’s petition, submitted by his counsel, alleged that his daughter was a minor and therefore could not make such a decision. The petition insisted that this change in last name would have been the estranged wife’s doing.

The father’s concern, according to his petition, was that the it would be difficult to proceed in certain matters, such as availing a life insurance claim that was made in the daughter’s name, if she continued to use her mother’s last name. This is because the policy was drawn using the father’s last name as the girl’s surname.

However, the Delhi HC presiding on this case through Justice Rekha Patil, observed that every child has the right to use their mother’s surname and the father cannot dictate the child in this matter to use his surname. In fact, Justice Patil called it “unfortunate” that the parties were litigating in this matter, which seemed completely without merit.

“The father does not own the daughter to dictate that she should use only his surname. If the minor daughter is happy with her surname, what is your problem?” said Delhi HC.

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Justice Patil went on to dismiss the plea stating that this looked more like the husband’s attempt at settling some score with the estranged wife.

“I see no merit in the present writ petition. The apprehension that the LIC [policy] will be dishonoured is wholly misconceived and is an attempt to somehow settle scores with his estranged wife.”

Furthermore, the judge also pointed out that the minor’s birth certificate as issued by the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) has both the father and mother’s names. And therefore, there shouldn’t be an issue with the claim of the insurance policy as pointed out in the father’s plea.

What Delhi HC has observed in this matter, this kind of a ruling seems like it’s been a long time coming. It makes me glad that our courts (at least some of them) and their judgements are finally getting with the times. But there’s also this major concern about paperwork and legalities that the father in this case brought up that actually are quite reflective to the ground reality. Women and children do face issues in paperwork, where their last name isn’t the same as their husband’s or father’s, especially because in India, it continues to remain a social issue more than anything. Moreover, not many people are actually aware of laws and therefore will fall for fake news, like the one that was doing the rounds some years ago, about how women don’t need to change their names post marriage on their passports. Most people shared and reshared the Facebook post extensively, not realising that it was old news and not some new law implemented freshly.

The solution to this problem isn’t that children need to use their father’s name only. Nope. The solution is to change our mindsets, while we amend the procedures, protocols and the ridiculously complicated bureaucratic paperwork that makes it a nightmare for people who have chosen to pick their maiden or mother’s names to get work done.