NEW DELHI: Every child has a right to use his/her mother's surname instead of the father's, the Delhi High Court said on Friday. Disposing of a petition filed by a minor girl's father seeking directions to the authorities that his name is reflected as daughter’s surname and not the mother's, Justice Rekha Palli declined to pass any such order and said, "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?"
Advocate Anuj Kumar Ranjan, appearing on behalf of the petitioner father, submitted that the girl was a minor and could not decide these things for herself. The child’s surname was changed from 'Srivastava' to 'Saxena' by the petitioner's estranged wife, he told the court.
He further claimed that the name change will make it difficult to claim an insurance amount, since the policy was taken in the name of the child with her father's surname. Justice Palli, however, found no merit in the writ petition and declined to entertain it.
"The apprehension that the LIC (insurance policy) will be dishonoured is misconceived and is an attempt to somehow set score with his estranged wife," the court observed. The petitioner was, however, given the liberty to approach the school his daughter studies in to show his name as the father.