IF A WOMAN FEELS SHE IS NOTHING WITHOUT THE SUPPORT OF THE MAN THAT IS THE FAILURE OF THE SYSTEM - KERALA HC

11th April 2021

"If a woman feels she is nothing without the support of the man, that is the failure of the system", Justices A Muhamed Mustaque and Dr Kauser Edappagath observed while hearing a petition by an unmarried couple John and Anitha, reclaiming their child who was surrendered for adoption previously.

FACTS

John is a Christian, and Anitha is Hindu by their faith. They started to live together at Ernakulam, and Opposition came from their kith and kin. They were planning to marry once their parents were convinced. But Anitha gave birth to a baby girl on 3/2/2020. After some time, it appeared that John might have broken the relationship with Anitha or remained elusive. Anxious Anitha had no option but to hand over the child to the Child Welfare Committee and execute a Deed of Surrender. However, later the couple approached the Kerala High Court under a Habeas Corpus petition.

DECISION

The Kerala HC stated that "Parental right of biological parents is a natural right not preconditioned by the institutionalization of legal marriage. The court granted its decision in favour of the couple.

The Bench made a few more observations such as, "In a country where the people worship Goddess, In the State where we boast percent literacy, our attitude to a woman is despising; a single mother has no financial or social support. She faces emotional challenges and is forced to believe she is destined to be isolated as a result of guilt. She gets hardly any support from the system. It is time for the Government to evolve a scheme to support the single mother."

Author: Papiha Ghoshal

PC: Harvard health