File photo of the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court today held that unwed mother can have the custody of the child without the father's consent and she must not be compelled to disclose the identity of the father to the authorities. Her right of privacy is of paramount importance, the court added.
The court held that an unwed mother is entitled to birth certificate of the child without the father's name and directed all authorities to ensure that no citizen suffers without birth certificate for having a single parent.
"In today's society, where women are increasingly choosing to raise their children alone, we see no purpose in imposing an unwilling and unconcerned father on an otherwise viable family nucleus," said the two-judge bench headed by Justice Vikramajit Sen.
"It seems to us that a man who has chosen to forsake his duties and responsibilities is not a necessary constituent for the well-being of the child."
Stressing on the need for the woman's fundamental right to privacy, the bench said the welfare of the child will not be undermined if the woman is not compelled to disclose the identity of the father or that a "court notice is mandatory in the child's interest".
"The views of an uninvolved father are not essential, in our opinion, to protect the interests of a child born out of wedlock and being raised solely by his/her mother," the court said.
The judgment came in a case in which a woman, who gave birth to a son in 2010, has raised him without any assistance or involvement of the father. But when she tried to make her son the nominee to all her savings and other insurance policies, she was told that she must either declare the name of the father or get a guardianship/adoption certificate from a Court.
She had moved Supreme Court after the Delhi High Court dismissed her appeal.