Delhi HC upholds father's right in school records despite dissolution of marriage

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has ruled that the dissolution of a marriage does not erase the parental status of the mother and father to have their name reflected in the school records of their ward.

Allowing a man's plea, the court said that while the mother has the right to be recognised as the child's mother, this does not authorise her to deny the father's right to have his name entered in the school documents.

The court directed the school to reflect both parents' names and take corrective steps within two weeks.

The man had sought a direction to the school to correct its records, asserting his right to be recognised as the father of the child. Despite certain matrimonial disputes leading to the annulment of their marriage by a divorce decree in June 2015, the court maintained that the father's parental status persists.

The mother's emotional objections, based on the acrimonious relationship and her present husband's acceptance of the child, were deemed insufficient to deny the petitioner's right as the child's father.