Supreme Court Disposes Of PIL Seeking To Include Mother’s Name In Child’s Public/Official Documents, Says, “Most Of The States Have Done It”

On February 04, 2025, the Supreme Court (SC) of India disposed of the 2014 public interest litigation (PIL) seeking to identify children by their mother’s name in all official documents and affidavits. The order reads, “The petitioner raised an issue of paramount importance and as per the reply-affidavits filed by most of the states, they have accepted the concern raised by the petitioner and taken policy decision/amended rules etc. to ensure that the name of the mother of a child is inserted in all the official/public records. That being so, nothing survives in this writ petition.” 

While hearing the matter, the two-judge bench of the SC constituting Justice N Kotiswar Singh and Justice Surya Kant noted that the majority of the States and Union Territories have undertaken certain policy measures that ensure a mother’s name is inserted in all official/public records of her children. Moreover, the counsel appearing for the petitioner informed the SC about the petitioner’s demise and had no legal heir as he became a monk. Justice Kant said, “he did a commendable job, most of the states have done it (made provision for insertion of mother's name in child's documents).” Adding to this, Additional Solicitor General SD Sanjay said, “What he wanted has already been achieved in most of the states.”

In this case, Journalist-turned-spiritual activist Madhav Kant Mishra filed the PIL seeking a direction to include the name of the mother of a child in all official documents/records. He claimed that it was unfair and against the basic law of nature to avoid a mother’s name and contended that the father’s name could be an optional entry in his child’s official/public documents. After hearing the contentions, the SC bench disposed of the PIL.