ABC v State (NCT of Delhi)

Facts

• The petitioner, an unwed mother following the Christian faith, sought to be declared the sole guardian of her son, who was born out of wedlock and had been raised solely by her since birth
• The relevant guardianship application process would normally require notice to the father; the petitioner sought exemption from disclosing his identity, given his complete absence from the child's life and to avoid future complications for the child
• The matter reached the Supreme Court after lower courts required procedural compliance the petitioner sought to avoid

Issue

1. Whether an unwed mother can be granted sole guardianship of her child without notifying or naming the biological father, and how the welfare of the child factors into this determination.

Held

• The Supreme Court held that in the case of an unwed mother who has single-handedly raised the child without any involvement from the father, the mother could be declared the sole natural guardian without notice to the father
• The welfare of the child is the paramount consideration in guardianship matters, and this can justify dispensing with procedural requirements that would otherwise stigmatise the child or expose the mother to hardship
• The Court's reasoning was not confined to any one personal law, applying a rights-based, welfare-centric approach relevant across religious contexts, including Hindu law guardianship provisions
• This built upon the gender-equal reading of guardianship provisions developed in Githa Hariharan v Reserve Bank of India (1999)

Ratio Decidendi

Welfare of the child, not rigid procedural formality, governs guardianship determinations; an unwed mother who has been the sole caregiver may be granted guardianship without mandatory notice to an absent or uninvolved father, reinforcing a gender-just and child-centric approach to guardianship law across personal law systems.