There is sound logic and complete justification in the Supreme Court’s ruling that an unwed mother can be the sole guardian of her child (July 7). In the case in which this verdict was given by the top court, it is quite obvious that the appellant, ‘ABC’, had been misled. In such cases, it would be absurd to seek the prior consent of the absentee father in obtaining guardianship. Now, unwed mothers can heave a sigh of relief.
K.D. Viswanaathan,Coimbatore
If we look at landmark judgments of the Supreme Court, we find that these are the cases where common sense, a modern outlook and the supremacy of perennial and superior principles like equality and fundamental rights have been asserted brushing aside the strict letter-of-the-law and technical positions. In this case, the privileging of the individual’s right to choose the general civil law provision against that of religious personal law (when the father is no where in the picture in caring for the child or the mother), accords with common sense, and where the reality of today’s single mothers capably raising their children without paternal participation is recognised. The judicial call to legislate a uniform civil code in compliance with the directive principle of the Constitution must be heeded to by the government and will be a great step forward in furthering women’s rights and emancipation.
A.N. Lakshmanan,Bengaluru
The verdict upholds the authoritative sanctity of motherhood, femininity and individual dignity and is a signal to all parties concerned how vigilant the constitutional watchdog is in safeguarding even the minutest of feminist interests and human rights. Recognition of the status of an unwed mother — understandably an unsupported and stigmatised individual who simultaneously fights social taboos and challenging constraints — not only validates her status quo but attests to her individuality as a person in her own right. It is in endorsing the marginalised and the desolate that the Supreme Court credits itself as being the unflinching agent of democracy and public goodwill.
Anand K.,Kozhikode
