Guardianship Under Hindu, Muslim, Christian And Parsi Laws

Guardianship Under Hindu Law

The Dharmashastras did not deal with the law of guardianship. During the British regime the law of guardianship was developed by the courts. It came to be established that the father is the natural guardian of the children and after his death, mother is the natural guardian of the children and none else can be the natural guardian of minor children. Testamentary guardians were also introduced in Hindu law: It was also accepted that the supreme guardianship of the minor children vested in the State as parens patrie and was exercised by the courts. The Hindu law of guardianship of minor children has been codified and reformed by the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956. The subject may be discussed under the following heads : (i) Guardianship of person of minors, (u) Guardianship of the property of minors, and (iii) De facto guardians, and (iv) guardians by affinity.

Guardianship of the person

Minor Children
Under the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956, S. 4(b), minor means a person who has not completed the age of eighteen years. A minor is considered to be a person who is physically and intellectually imperfect and immature and hence needs someone's protection. In the modern law of most countries the childhood is accorded protection in multifarious ways. Guardian is "a person having the care of the person of the minor or of his property or both person and property." It may be emphasized that in the modern law guardians exist essentially for the protection and care of the child and to look after its welfare. This is expressed by saying that welfare of the child is paramount consideration. Welfare includes both physical and moral well-being. Guardians may be of the following types : 1. Natural guardians, 2. Testamentary guardians, and 3. Guardians appointed or declared by the court. There are two other types of guardians, existing under Hindu law, de facto guardians, and guardians by affinity.

Natural Guardians

In Hindu law only three persons are recognized as natural guardians father, mother and husband, Father. “Father is the natural guardian of his minor legitimate children, sons and daughters." Section 19 of the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890, lays down that a father cannot be deprived of the natural guardianship of his minor children unless he has been found unfit. Me effect of Lh1s provision has been considerably whittled down by judicial decisions and by Section 13 of the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act which lays down that welfare of the minor is of paramount consideration and father's right of guardianship is 5;ubordinate to the welfare of the child. The Act does not recognize the principle of joint guardians. The position of adopted children is at par with natural-born children. The mother is the natural guardian of the minor illegitimate children even if the father is alive. However, she is the natural guardian of her minor legitimate children only if the father is dead or otherwise is incapable of acting as guardian. Proviso to clause (a) of Section 6, Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act lays down that the custody of a minor who has not completed the age of five years shall ordinarily be with the mother. Thus, mother is entitled to the custody of the child below five years, unless the welfare of the minor requires otherwise.

In Gita Hariharan v. Reserve Bank of India and Vandana Shiva v. Jayanta Bandhopadhaya, the Supreme Court has held that under certain circumstances, even when the father is alive mother can act as a natural guardian. The term 'after' used in Section 6(a) has been interpreted as 'in absence of' instead 'after the life-time'. -
Rights of guardian of person. -The natural guardian has the following rights in respect of minor children:
(a) Right to custody, .
(b) Right to determine the religion of children,
(c) Right to education,
(d) Right to control movement, and
(e) Right to reasonable chastisement
These rights are conferred on the guardians in the interest of the minor children and therefore of each- of these rights is subject to the welfare of the minor children. The natural guardians have also the obligation to maintain their minor children.

Testamentary Guardians

When, during the British period, testamentary powers were conferred on Hindus, the testamentary guardians also came into existence. It was father's prerogative to appoint testamentary guardians. By appointing a testamentary guardian the father could exclude the mother from her natural guardianship of the children after his death. Under the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956, testamentary power of appointing a guardian has now been conferred on both parents.' The father may appoint a testamentary guardian but if mother survives him, his testamentary appointment will be ineffective and the mother will be the natural guardian. If mother appoints testamentary guardian, her appointee will become the testamentary guardian and father's appointment will continue to be ineffective. If mother does not appoint, father's appointee will become the guardian. It seems that a Hindu father cannot appoint a guardian. of his minor illegitimate children even when he is entitled to act as their natural. guardian, as S. 9(1) confers testamentary power on him in respect of legitimate children. In respect of illegitimate children, Section 9(4) confers such power on the mother alone.

Under Section 9, Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, testamentary guardian can be appointed only by a will. The guardian of a minor girl will cease to be the guardian of her person on her marriage, and the guardianship cannot revive even if she becomes a widow while a minor. It is necessary for the testamentary guardian to accept 'the guardianship. Acceptance may be express or implied. A testamentary guardian may refuse to accept the appointment or may disclaim it, but once he accepts, he cannot refuse to act or resign except with the permission of the court.

Guardians Appointed by the Court

The courts are empowered to appoint guardians under the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890. The High Courts also have inherent jurisdiction to appoint guardians but this power is exercised sparingly. The Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act is supplementary to and not in derogation to Guardians and Wards Act. Under the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890, the jurisdiction is conferred on the District Court: The District Court may appoint or declare any person as the guardian whenever it considers it necessary in the welfare of the child.' In appointing ,,a" guardian, the court takes into consideration various factors, including the age, sex, wishes of the parents and the personal law of the child. The welfare of the children is of paramount consideration.
The District Court has the power to appoint or declare a guardian in respect of the person as well as separate property of the minor. The chartered High Courts have inherent jurisdiction to appoint guardians of the- person as well as the property of minor children. This power extends to the undivided interest of a coparcener.

The guardian appointed by the court is known as certificated guardian. Powers of Certificated guardians. Powers of certificated guardians are controlled by the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890. There are a very few acts which he can perform without the prior permission of the court. In the ultimate analysis his powers are co-extensive with the powers of the sovereign and he may do all those things (though with the permission of the court) which the sovereign has power to do. A certificated guardian from the date of his appointment is under the supervision, guidance and control of the court./

Guardianship by affinity

In pre-1956 Hindu law there existed a guardian called guardian by affinity. The guardian by affinity is the guardian of a minor widow. Mayne said that "the husband's relation, if there exists any, within the degree of sapinda, are the guardians of a minor widow in preference to her father and his relations."' The judicial. pronouncements have also been to the same effect[1]. The guardianship by affinity was taken to its logical end by the High Court in Paras Ram v. State[2] In this case the father-in-law of a minor widow forcibly took away the widow from her mother's house and married her for money to an unsuitable person against her wishes. The question before the court was whether the father-in-law was guilty of removing the girl forcibly. The Allahabad High Court held that he was not, since he was the lawful guardian of the widow.

A question has come before our courts, whether the nearest sapinda of the husband automatically becomes a guardian of the minor widow on the death of her husband or whether he is merely preferentially entitled to guardianship and therefore he cannot act as guardian unless he is appointed as such? Paras Ram seems to subscribe to the former view, and the Madras and the Nagpur high Courts to the latter view. Under Section 13, Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, in the appointment of 'any person as guardian, the welfare of the child is paramount consideration. The fact that under Hindu law father-in-law has preferential right to be appointed as guardian is only a matter of secondary consideration.

In our submission, it would be a better law if the guardianship of the minor wife, both of her person and property, continues to vest in the parents. We do not have much of textual guidance or case law on the powers of the guardians by affinity. Probably his powers may be taken to be at par with those of the natural guardian.

De Facto Guardian

A de facto guardian is a person who takes continuous interest in the welfare of the minor's person or in the management and administration of his property without any authority of law. Hindu jurisprudence has all along recognized the principle that if liability is incurred by one on behalf of another in a case where it is justified, then the person, on whose behalf the liability is incurred or, at least, his property, is liable, notwithstanding the fact that no authorization was made for incurring the liability.'

The term 'de facto guardian' as such is not mentioned in any of the texts, but his existence has never been denied in Hindu law. In Sriramulu, Kanta[3]. said that Hindu law tried to find a solution out of two difficult situations : one, when a Hindu child has no legal guardian, there would be no one who would handle and manage his estate in law and thus without a guardian the child would not receive any income for his property and secondly, a person having no title could not be permitted to intermeddle with the child's estate so as to cause loss to him. The Hindu law found a solution to this problem by according legal status to de facto guardians.

A mere intermeddler is not a de facto guardian. An isolated or fugitive act of a person in regard to child's property does not make him a de facto guardian. To make a person a de facto guardian some continuous course of conduct is necessary on his part. In other words, a de facto guardian is a person who is not a legal guardian, who has no authority in law to act as such but nonetheless he himself has assumed, the management of the property of the child as though he were a guardian. De facto guardianship is a concept where past acts result in present status. The term literally means 'from that which has been done.'
The de facto guardian was recognised in Hindu law as early as 1856. The Privy Council in Hanuman Pd.[4] said that 'under Hindu law, the right of a bona fide incumbrancer, who has taken a de facto guardian a charge of land, created honestly, for the purpose of saving the estate, or for the benefit of the estate, is not affected by the want of union of the de facto with the de jure title.

Guardianship Under Muslim Law:

The source of law of guardianship and custody are certain verses in the Koran and a few ahadis. The Koran, the alladis and other authorities on Muslim law emphatically speak of the guardianship of the property of the minor, the guardianship of the person is a mere inference. We would discuss the law of guardianship of custody as under :
(a) Guardianship,
(b) Custody, and
(c) De facto guardian.
Classification of Guardianship
In Muslim law guardians fall under the following three categories : (i) Natural guardians,
(ii) Testamentary guardians, and
(iii) Guardians appointed by the court.

Natural Guardians
In all schools of both the Sunnis and the Shias, the father is recognized as guardian which term in the context is equivalent to natural guardian and the mother in all schools of Muslim law is not recognized as a guardian, natural or otherwise, even after the death of the father. The father's right of guardianship exists even when the mother, or any other female, is entitled to the custody of the minor. The father has the right to control the education and religion of minor children, and their upbringing and their movement. So long as the father is alive, he is the sole and supreme guardian of his minor children.[5]

The father's right of guardianship extends only over his minor legitimate children. He is not entitled to guardianship or to custody of his minor illegitimate children.

In Muslim law, the mother is not a natural guardian even of her minor illegitimate children, but she is entitled to their custody.[6]

Among the Sunnis, the father is the only natural guardian of the minor children. After the death of the father, the guardianship passes on to the executor. Among the Shias, after the father, the guardianship belongs to the grandfather, even if the father has appointed an executor, the executor of the father becomes the guardian only in the absence of the grandfather. No other person can be natural guardian, not even the brother. In the absence of the grandfather, the guardianship belongs to the grandfather's executor, if any.'

Testamentary Guardian

Among the Sunnis, the father has full power of making a testamentary appointment of guardian. In the absence of the father and his executor, the grandfather has the power of appointing a testamentary guardian. Among the Shias, the father's appointment of testamentary guardian is valid only if the grandfather is not alive. The grandfather, too, has the power of appointing a -testamentary guardian. No other person has any such power. Among both the Shias and the Sunnis, the mother has no power of appointing a testamentary guardian of her children. It is only in two cases in which the mother can appoint a testamentary guardian of her property of her minor children :.first, when she has been appointed a general executrix by the will of the child's father, she can appoint an executor by her will; and secondly, she can appoint an executor in respect of her own property. which will devolve after her death on her children.

The mother can be appointed a testamentary., guardian or executrix by the father, or by the grandfather, whenever he can exercise this power. Among the Sunnis, the appointment of a non-Muslim mother as testamentary guardian is valid, but among the Shias such an appointment is not valid, as they hold the view that a non-Muslim cannot be a guardian of the person as well as of. the property of a minor. It seems that the appointment of non'-Muslim fellow-subject (iiinmi) is valid, though it may be set aside by the kazi. According to the Malikis and the Shafii law, a zimmi can be a validly appointed testamentary guardian of the property of the minor, but not of the person of -the minor. The Shias also take the same view. It appears that when two persons are appointed as guardians, and one of them is disqualified, the other can act as guardian. A profligate, i.e., a person who bears in public walk of life a notoriously bad,character, cannot be appointed as guardian:
Acceptance of the appointment of ...testamentary guardianship is necessary, though acceptance may be express or implied. But once the guardianship . is accepted, it cannot be renounced save with the permission of the court.

Muslim law does not lay down any specific formalities for the appointment of testamentary guardians. Appointment may be made in writing or orally. In every case the intention to appoint a testamentary guardian must be clear and unequivocal. A testamentary deposition made by a testator may be invalid, but appointment of the executor may be general or particular. The testator must have the capacity to make the will at the time when it was executed. This means that the feslat8r ghould be major and of sound -mind, i.e., at the time of execution of the will, he should be in full possession of his senses.

The executor of the testamentary guardian is designated variously by Muslim lawgivers, indicating his position and powers. He is commonly called, wali or guardian. He is also called amin, i.e., a trustee. He is also termed as kaim-mukam, i.e., personal representative of the testator.

Guardian appointed by the Court.-On the failure of the natural . guardians and testamentary guardians, the kazi was entrusted with the power of appointment of guardian of a Muslim minor. Now the matter is governed by the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890. This Act applies to the appointment of guardians of all minors belonging to any community. The High Courts also have inherent powers of appointment of guardians, though the power is exercised very sparingly.

Under the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890, the power of appointing, or declaring any person as guardian is conferred on the District Court. The District Court may appoint or declare any person as guardian of a minor child's person as well as property whenever it considers it necessary- for the welfare of the minor, taking into consideration the age, sex, wishes of the child as well 'as the wishes of the parents and the personal law of the minor.

Guardianship Under Christian Law

The Guardians and Wards Act, 1890, which resides in the secular realm also, may be resorted to. The relevant provisions are reproduced herein: -
According to section 17 of the above-said Act, the matters of the case should be considered by the court in appointing guardian. The section reads, “ (1) In appointing or declaring the guardian of a minor, the Court shall, subject to the provisions of this section, be guided by what, consistently with the law to which the minor is subject, appears in the circumstances to be for the welfare of the minor

(2) In considering what will be the welfare of the minor, the Court shall have regard to the age, sex and religion of the minor, the character and capacity of the proposed guardian and his nearness of kin to the minor, the wishes, if any, of the deceased parent, and any existing or previous relations of the proposed guardian with the minor or his property.

(3) If the minor is old enough to form an intelligent preference, the Court may consider that preference.”

Section 19, which prohibits the Court from appointing guardians in certain cases, reads:
S.19. Guardians not to be appointed by the Court in certain cases:-Nothing in this Chapter shall authorize the Court to appoint or declare a guardian of the property of a minor, whose property is under the superintendence of a Court of Wards, or to appoint or declare a guardian of the person-
(a) Of a minor who is a married female and whose husband is not, in the opinion of the Court, unfit to be guardian of her person. Or
(b) Of a minor whose father is living and is not, in the opinion of the Court, unfit to be guardian of the person of the minor, or
(c) Of a minor whose property is under the superintendence of a Court of Wards competent to appoint a guardian of the person of the minor."

S.24. Duties of guardian of the person-

A guardian of the person of a ward is charged with the custody of the ward and must look to his support, health and education, and such other matters as the law to which the ward is subject requires.

S.25. Title of guardian to custody of ward:

(1) If a ward leaves or is removed from the custody of a guardian of his person, the Court, if it is of opinion that it will be for the welfare of the ward to return to the custody of his guardian, may make an order for his return, and for the purpose of enforcing the order may cause the ward to be arrested and to be delivered into the custody of the guardian.

(2) For the purpose of arresting the ward, the Court may exercise the power conferred on a Magistrate of the first class by Section 100 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1882.

(3) The residence of a ward against the will of his guardian with a person who is not his guardian does not of itself terminate the guardianship."

In Thrity Hoshie Dolikuka v. Hoshiam Shavaksha Dolikuka[7], the Court held
The principles of law in relation to the custody of a minor appear to be well established. It is well settled that any matter concerning a minor, has to be considered and decided only from the point of view of the welfare and interest of the minor, In dealing with a matter concerning a minor, the Court has a special responsibility and it is the duty of the Court to consider the welfare of the minor and to protect the minor's interest. In considering the question of custody of a minor, the Court has to be guided by the only consideration of the welfare of the minor.

It is, however, noteworthy that under Indian Divorce Act the sons of Indian fathers cease to be minors on attaining the age of 16 years and their daughters cease to be minors on attaining the age of 13 years: S. 3 (5). The Court under the Divorce Act would thus be incompetent now to make any order under Ss. 41 and 42 with respect to the elder son and the daughter in the present case. According to the respondent-husband under these circumstances he cannot approach the Court unless, the Divorce Act for relief with respect to the custody of these children and now that these children have ceased to be minors under that Act, the orders made by that Court have also lost their vitality. On this reasoning the husband claimed the right to invoke S. 25 of the Guardians and Wards Act.”

Guardianship Under Parsi Law

Although there is no general law of guardianship, yet it is permitted by a statute amongst Hindus and by custom amongst a few numerically insignificant categories of persons. Since adoption is legal affiliation of a child, it forms the subject matter of personal law. Muslims, Christians and Parsis have no adoption laws and have to approach court under the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890. Muslims, Christians and Parsis can take a child under the said Act only under foster care. Once a child under foster care becomes major, he is free to break away all his connections. Besides, such a child does not have legal right of inheritance. Foreigners, who want to adopt Indian children have to approach the court under the aforesaid Act. In case the court has given permission for the child to be taken out of the country, adoption according to a foreign law, i.e., law applicable to guardian takes place outside the country.

Endnotes
[1] Chinna v Vinayaghathammal, AIR 1929 Mad 110 at 112; Aslzwani Kumar v Fulkurnari, 77 CWN 349.
[2] AIR 1960 All 479.
[3] . Ethilulu v Pathakal, AIR 1950 Mad 390; Kusicbai - v. Chandrabtutga, AIR 1918 Nag 100
[4] (1856) 6 MIA 393.
[5] . Imambandi v. Mutsaddi, (1918) 45 Cal 887.
[6] Gohar Begum v Suggi, (1960) 1 SCR 597
[7] AIR 1982 SUPREME COURT 1276
# Guardianship Under Hindu, Muslim, Christian And Parsi Laws

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