Unwed mother can be legal guardian

The Supreme Court in a landmark judgement has overturned the earlier rule and said that an unwed mother can be the legal guardian of her child and there is no need to disclose his name or take his consent. Earlier, the consent of the father was necessity for a mother to be the legal guardian. The Court observed that it is futile to give responsibility to the man who had earlier abandoned his child. The petition was brought by a Christian woman who said that the father of her child doesn't even know about the existence of his child and has now married someone else. The judgement has been hailed as being progressive and another step towards gender equality. The name of the mother is sufficient and the name of the father need not be declared for guardianship.

Passport
Further, the ministry of external affairs has stated that an unwed mother does not require to declare whether she was raped or how she conceived while applying for the passport of her child. The birth certificate is sufficient and the name of the father can be left blank.