Aurangabad Bench orders correction of school records to remove father’s name and caste, emphasising constitutional rights of single mothers and child welfare.
Bombay High Court | Bench & Date of Order
A Division Bench of the Bombay High Court comprising Justices Vibha Kankanwadi and Hiten Venegavkar delivered the order on 2 February 2026, with the judgment becoming publicly available in mid-February 2026.
Case Title and Background
The petition in XYZ v. State of Maharashtra involved a 12-year-old girl and her single mother. They challenged the inclusion of the biological father’s name, surname, and caste in the child’s school records. The authorities had refused the requested changes on the ground that existing formats and the Secondary School Code mandated paternal details.
According to the petition, the mother had been the sole caregiver and guardian since the child’s birth. The biological father, who was legally confirmed through DNA tests, was accused in a serious criminal offence and entered into an agreement acknowledging no role in the child’s life. Despite this, the child’s school record listed the father’s name and classified her under her father’s caste group.
Legal Issue
The principal legal question was whether a child raised exclusively by her mother can be compelled to retain her father’s name and caste in official records when such information no longer reflected her lived reality and was contrary to her welfare and identity.
Court’s Ruling
The Bombay High Court allowed the petition and directed the school authorities to modify the child’s records by:
- Removing the father’s name and surname from the school documents.
- Substituting them with the mother’s name and surname.
- Correcting the caste entry from the father’s caste (‘Maratha’) to the mother’s caste (‘Mahar’, a Scheduled Caste).
The Court observed that recognising a single mother as a complete parent for civic identity purposes was not an act of charity, but rather a constitutional obligation reflective of evolving family structures and constitutional choice.
Reasoning of the Court
The Bench grounded its reasoning primarily in the Indian Constitution’s fundamental rights and equality principles:
- Article 21 (Right to Life and Personal Liberty) was held to encompass the right to an identity that aligns with a child’s lived social reality.
- Article 14 (Equality before Law) was invoked to reject the assumption that identity must flow through the father by default, noting that such presumptions were remnants of patriarchal social structures rather than neutral administrative rules.
- The Court highlighted that official documents such as school records are public instruments that follow a child throughout life, influencing access to entitlements, societal perception, and psychological development. They should therefore reflect factual circumstances, not entrenched social norms.
The Bench also noted that while caste entries require caution due to potential misuse and are not to be altered casually, the specific facts justified correction. The mother’s exclusive role in the child’s life and the father’s complete absence made the continued listing of the father’s caste contrary to fairness and welfare.
Practical Implications
- The order underscores that administrative forms and records must adapt to contemporary family dynamics without imposing outdated patriarchal presumptions.
- It affirms that a single mother can be legally recognised as a complete parent, capable of shaping her child’s civic identity in official records.
- The ruling may influence how educational institutions and government authorities approach name and caste entries in documentation, especially in contexts of sole maternal custody or absence of a father.
- The judgment aligns with broader constitutional values of dignity, equality, and personal identity, reinforcing that official records should mirror the reality of the child’s upbringing and welfare.
The judgment adds clarity on the recognition of a single mother as a full and equal parent in legal documentation, and the permissible scope for correcting official records to reflect maternal identity and lived family circumstances.
