India, Feb. 19 -- The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay high court has held that a minor child raised exclusively by a single mother is entitled to carry her mother's name and caste in school records, observing that the welfare and best interests of the child must remain the paramount consideration.

The court said that compelling a minor to carry, in her educational records, the caste identity of a person who has completely disconnected himself from her would be contrary to social reality and fairness. It further observed that recognition of a single mother as a complete parent for the purposes of a child's civic identity is not an act of charity, but an expression of constitutional fidelity.

The ruling came on a petition filed in 2025 by ...