In a significant ruling affirming parental rights, the Madhya Pradesh High Court has mandated that a child's school records must include the name of the biological father, irrespective of any ongoing marital discord between the parents. The court emphasized that a child's educational and social future should not be compromised by parental disputes.
Court Directs School to Correct Records
The judgment was delivered on December 17 last year by a division bench comprising Justices Anand Pathak and Anil Verma. The bench was hearing a petition filed by a father seeking the inclusion of his name in his son's school records and requesting access to the child's academic progress and school application credentials.
The court directed the school to make the necessary corrections immediately. It further ordered the District Education Officer and the District Project Coordinator to ensure compliance with this directive as per the provisions of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act.
Background of the Legal Battle
The case originated when the petitioner's current school refused to record his name as the father or grant him any access to his son's academic updates. This was despite the fact that the child's previous schools had duly recorded the father's details.
The father alleged that the child's mother denied him meaningful contact and access. After his repeated requests to the school and local education authorities were ignored, he approached a trial court. However, his plea was dismissed on grounds of maintainability, prompting him to move the High Court.
Key Observations and Rationale of the Judgment
The High Court made several crucial observations while overturning the lower court's decision. It noted that school records form the foundational document for other critical public identifications like passports, Aadhaar cards, PAN cards, and bank accounts.
"A child should not suffer from the dispute, either emotionally or educationally/socially. Therefore, the record at the inception deserves correction by way of the incorporation of names of both parents," the bench stated.
The court firmly held that "the parental rights of a biological father cannot be undermined at the altar of dispute between the couple." It clarified that the statutory duty of the school under the RTE Act must be upheld by the education authorities.
Limited Access Granted to Academic Progress
While ruling in the father's favour, the court also set boundaries. It allowed the petitioner limited access to his son's school progress. The school is to communicate the child's academic progress to the father through the school app. However, the court explicitly restricted him from directly engaging with the school authorities or staff on his own.
This landmark judgment reinforces the legal principle that a child's welfare and official documentation are paramount and cannot be held hostage to matrimonial conflicts. It places a clear onus on educational institutions and their governing bodies to adhere to the law without letting personal disputes between parents interfere.
