Child born out of live-in-relationship has to be construed as child born to married couple, once a woman acknowledges the biological father of child

A child was born in a Government Hospital. Father's name is disclosed to the hospital authority and also to the local authority. The name of the child was also given on the birth certificate. The birth certificate shows the name of the father, mother and child. The surname of a child reflects the name of the father. A birth certificate is a crucial document for a public authority to verify that a child is born to a married couple or not. It is not the duty of the Committee to inquire about the legal status of marriage as they are not competent authority to decide on such status. The woman in a live-in-relationship, acknowledging the biological father of the child, out of such a relationship, will have to be treated as a married woman for Juvenile Justice.

Once it is found that a child is born to a couple, for all practical purposes of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act of 2016, the inquiry must be initiated as though the child belonged to a married couple. Once a woman acknowledges the biological father, that cannot be questioned to deny the right of the biological father on the ground of want of legal marriage. Any such denial would amount to encroaching upon her decisional autonomy and freedom to choose.

The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act of 2016 intends to exclude only such biological fathers, who became fathers without the consent of the woman. Thus, in the light of the scheme of law as above, there is no difficulty in holding that a child born in a live-in relationship also has to be construed as a child born to a married couple.

Appearing counsel/s : Sri.Rajit, Smt.Lekshmi P. Nair, Adv. Smt.B.Bindu, Shri S.Gopinathan