KINDS OF GUARDIANSHIP AND POWERS OF

GUARDIANS RELATING TO PERSON OR

PROPERTY OF MINOR

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

MR.T.H.KHAN MOHD.SAIM
5TH SEMESTER
B.A.LLB (HONS)
ROLL NO-34
 CONTENT

(i) Short title and extent

(ii) Definitions
(iii) Act to be supplemental to Act VIII of 1890
(iv) Application of Act
(v) Overriding effect of Act
(vi) Natural guardians of a Hindu minor
(vii) Natural guardians and adopted son
(viii) Rights of guardian of a person
(ix) Powers of natural guardians
(x) Testamentary guardians
(xi) Powers of Testamentory guardians
(xii) Incapacity of minor to act as guardians of property
(xiii) De facto guardian not to deal with minor's property
(xiv) Guardian not to be appointed for minor's undivided interest in
joint family property
(xv) Welfare of minor to be paramount consideration
(xvi) Guardians appointed by court
(xvii) Guardianship by affinity
(xviii) De facto Guardians
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 Act is principally intended to declare as to who are the persons entitled to act as the natural
guardians of a Hindu minor in respect of the person and property of the minor and to impose
certain restrictions on the powers of such guardians. It is, therefore, both a codifying and a
supplement enactment and its provision must be read in the context of the law laid down in the
Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 .The subject may be discussed under the following heads :

(i) Guardianship of person of minors,

(ii) Guardianship of the property of minors,

(iii) De facto guardians, and

(iv) Guardians by affinity.

“Minor” is defined as a person who has not completed 18 years of age .Under .s 3 of the Indian
Majority Act, 1875, it is provided that when a guardian is appointed by a court except under
Order 32 of the Civil Procedure Code, or in the case of ward under the Court of Wards, a person
is deemed to have attained majority on the completion of 21 years of age.Sec.3 of the Indian
Majority Act further gives overriding effect to that Act as against all other enactments which are
inconsistent with the provision of that Act. Section 5 of the this Act however gives overriding
effect to the provisions of the present Act against all other enactments which are inconsistent
with any or the provisions of the present Act.

A guardian is one who has the care of the person or the person or the property of a minor or of
both his person and property. There are four categories of guardians specifically referred to in
s.4, viz., the natural guardian, testamentary guardian appointed by and under a will of the minor'
s father or mother, a guardian appointed or declared by a court, and a person empowered to act
as guardian by or under any enactment relating to court of wards. Sec. 6 specifies who are the
natural guardians and s. 8 deals with the power of a natural guardian. Sec.7 provides that on
adoption of a minor, the natural guardianship passes to the adoptive father and after him to the
adoptive mother. Sec.9 deals with testamentary guardians and their powers. The appointment of
guardians by court and their powers are dealt with under the Guardians and Wards Act and the
fourth category mentioned in the section is dealt with under Acts relating to court of wards.

Apart from the above four categories specifically referred to in section 4(b)(i) to (iv), under the
old law, another category, viz., a de facto guardian was recognised for certain purposes. Though
a de facto guardian is not one of the categories specifically mentioned in this sub section it has
been held in Ratan v. Bisan AIR 1978 Bom 190 that as the definition is an inclusive definition
there is no reason why a person who acts as a de facto guardian should not within the definition
of a guardian.

Act to be supplemental to Act VIII of 1890

The provisions of this Act shall be in addition to, and not, save as hereinafter expressly provided,
in derogation of, the Guardians and Wards Act,1890.

Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956 does not codify the entire law of guardianship
applicable to Hindus but amends and codifies only certain parts of law relating to minority and
guardianship among Hindus. The provisions are to be read supplemental to the Guardians and
Wards Act. The Act does not apply to minors with court guardians. Provisions of the Act are
supplementary to that of Guardianship and Wards Act.- AIR 1981 Cal 206.

Application of Act
(1) This Act applies,-

(a) to any person who is a Hindu by religion in any of its forms or developments,
including a Virashaiva a Lingayat or a follower of the Brahmo, Prarthana or Arya Samaj,

(b) to any person who is a Buddhist, Jaina or Sikh by religion and

(c) to any person domiciled in the territories to which this Act extends who is not a
Muslim, Christian , Parsi or Jew by religion, unless it is proved that any such person would not
have been governed by the Hindu law or by any custom or usage as part of that law in respect of
any of the matters dealt with herein if this Act had not been passed.

Explanation: The following persons are Hindus, Buddhists, Jainas or Sikhs by

religion, as the case may be:-
 (i) any child, legitimate or illegitimate, both of whose parents are Hindus, Buddhists,
Jainas or Sikhs by religion;

(ii) any child, legitimate, or illegitimate, one of whose parents is a Hindu, Buddhist,
Jain or Sikh religion and who is brought up as a member of the tribe, community, group
or family to which such parent belongs or belonged ; and

(iii) any persons who is a convert or re-convert to the Hindu, Buddhists, Jaina or
Sikh religion.

(2) Notwithstanding any thing contained in sub section (1), nothing contained in this Act
shall apply to the members of any Scheduled Tribe within the meaning of clause (25) of article
366 of Constitution unless the Central Government, by notification in the Official Gazette,
otherwise directs.

(3) The expression ‘ Hindu’ in any portion of this Act shall be construed as if it included a
person who, though not a Hindu by religion, is nevertheless, a person to whom this Act applies
by virtue of the provisions contained in this section.

Overriding effect of Act

Save as otherwise expressly provided in this Act.

(i) any text, rule or interpretation of Hindu law or any custom or usage as part of that
law in force immediately before the commencement of this Act shall cease to
have effect with respect to any matter for which provision is made in this Act;

(ii) any other law in force immediately before the commencement of this Act shall
cease to have effect insofar as it is inconsistent with any of the provisions
contained in this Act.

The provisions of this Act have to prevail over any law, statutory or otherwise, immediately in
force before the commencement of this Act, which is inconsistent with any of the provisions
contained in this Act to the extent of the inconsistency. The expression “save as other wise
expressly provided in this Act” occurring the beginning of this section read with s.2 would
however exclude the Guardians and the Wards Act from the operation of this section.
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.

The natural guardian of a Hindu minor, in respect of the minor’s person as well as in respect of
the minor’s property (excluding his or her undivided interest in joint family property), are:-

1. in the case of a boy or unmarried girl- the father, and after him, the mother, provided
that the custody of a minor who has not completed the age of five years shall ordinarily
be with the mother;
 2. in the case of illegitimate boy or an illegitimate unmarried girl- the mother, and after
her, the father;
3. in the case of married girl -the husband

Explanation

1. In this section, the expression “father” and “mother” do not include a step- father and a
step-mother.

2. Even if the father neglects to look after, or to discharge his obligations towards, the
minor, or refuses to act natural guardian, the mother cannot be the natural guardian of the
minor so long as the father is alive .-Sundara Murthy V. Shanmuga Nadar AIR 1980
Mad 207 and Ramachandra V.Annapoorni AIR 1964 Ker 269.

3. Merely because the father is not residing with the family, he does not cease to be the
natural guardian. The natural guardian ceases to be so only under the two ground
mentioned in the proviso to the section.- Michayel Nadar v. Sreedharan Babu 1992 (2)
HLR 17 (Ker).

4. In such an event, the only course open to the mother is to take legal proceedings and
obtain appropriate orders of the court to act as the guardian of the minor.- Narain Singh
v. Sapurna kher AIR 1968 Pat.318.

5. In a case where the mother and father had fallen out and were living separately and the
minor daughter was under the care and protection of her mother (though her father was
alive) the Supreme Court held that the mother should be considered as the natural
guardian of the minor girl.-Jijabhai v. Pathankhan AIR 1971 SC 315.
6. 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'. –
Natural guardianship of adopted son
 The natural guardianship of an adopted son who is a minor passes, on adoption, to the
adoptive father and after him to the adoptive mother.

 From the moment the minor is adopted by a person it is the adoptive father that becomes
the natural guardian and the natural parents cease to be the natural guardians.

 The comments under s.6 would equally apply to the adoptive parents as natural guardians
of the minor. In the case of death of the adoptive parents, though the natural parents are
alive, necessary proceedings have to be taken under the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890
for the appointment of the guardian.

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.
Powers of natural guardian
(1) The natural guardian of a Hindu minor has power, subject to the provisions of this section, to
do all acts which are necessary or reasonable and proper for the benefit of the minor or for the
realization, protection or benefit of the minor's estate; but the guardian can in no case bind the
minor by a personal covenant.

(2) The natural guardian shall not, without the previous permission of the court-

(a) mortgage or charge, or transfer by sale, gift, exchange or otherwise, any part of the
immovable property of the minor, or

(b) lease any part of such property for a term exceeding five years or for a term extending
more than one year beyond the date on which the minor will attain majority.

(3) Any disposal of immovable property by a natural guardian, in contravention of sub-section

or sub-section, is viodable at the instance of the minor or any person claiming under him.

(4) No court shall grant permission to the natural guardian to do any of the acts mentioned in
sub-section (2) except in case of necessity or for an evident advantage to the minor.

(5) The Guardians and Wards Act, 1890, shall apply to and in respect of an application for
obtaining the permission of the court under sub-section (2) in all respects as if it were an
application for obtaining the permission of the court under section 29 of that Act, and in
particular-

(a) proceedings in connection with the application shall be deemed to be proceedings under
that Act within the meaning of section 4A thereof;

(b) the court shall observe the procedure and have the powers specified in sub-sections
(2),(3) and (4) of section 31 of that Act; and

(c) an appeal shall lie from an order of the court refusing permission to the natural guardian
to do any of the acts mentioned in sub-section (2) of this section to the court to which appeals
ordinarily lie from the decisions of that court.

(6) in this section, " court " means the City Civil Court or a District Court or a court empowered
under section 4A of the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890, within the local limits of whose
jurisdiction the immovable property in respect of which the application is made is situate, and
where the immovable property is situate within the jurisdiction of more than one such court,
means the court within the local limits of whose jurisdiction any portion of the property is
situate.
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.

Powers of Testamentary Guardians

(1) A Hindu father entitled to act as the natural guardian of his minor legitimate
children may, by will, appoint a guardian for any of them in respect of the minor's
person or in respect of the minor's property (other than the undivided interest
referred to in section 12) or in respect of both.

(2) An appointment made under sub-section (1) shall have no effect if the father
predeceases the mother, but shall revive if the mother dies without appointing, by
will, any person as guardian.

(3) A Hindu widow entitled to act as the natural guardian of her minor legitimate
children and Hindu mother entitled to act as the natural guardian of her minor
legitimate children by reason of the fact that the father has become disentitled to
act as such, may, by will, appoint a guardian for any of them in respect of the
minor's person or in respect of the minor's property (other than the undivided
interest referred to in section 12) or in respect of both.

(4) A Hindu mother entitled to act as the natural guardian of her minor
illegitimate children may, by will, appoint a guardian for any of them in respect of
the minor's person or in respect of the minor's property or in respect of both.

(5) The guardian so appointed by will has the right to act as minor's guardian
after the death of the minor's father or mother, as the case may be, and to exercise
all the rights of a natural guardian under this Act to such extent and subject to such
restrictions, if any, as are specified in this Act and in the will.

(6) The right of the guardian so appointed by will shall, where the minor is girl,
cease on her marriage.

Incapacity of minor to act as guardian of property

According to section 10 of the act a minor shall be incompetent to act as guardian

of the property of any minor.

De facto guardian not to deal with minor's property

According to section 11 of the act no person shall be entitled to dispose of, or deal
with, the property of a Hindu minor merely on the ground of his or her being the de
facto guardian of the minor.

During the lifetime of a natural or testamentary guardian or a guardian appointed

by the court, any person who gifts the property to the minor, cannot appoint some
other person in the gift deed, as the guardian. It would be of no avail and such
person can not act as guardian of the property gifted. But any person as a next
friend of the minor can file a suit on behalf of the minor.-Girdhari v. Anand AIR
1967 Pat 8 and Danial v. Raghu AIR 1967 Ori 68.
Guardian not to be appointed for minor's undivided interest in joint family
property:

1. Where a minor has an undivided interest in joint family property and the
property is under the management of an adult member of the family, no
guardian shall be appointed for the minor in respect of such undivided
interest:
2. PROVIDED that nothing in this section shall be deemed to affect the
jurisdiction of a High Court to appoint a guardian in respect of such interest
according to section 12 of the act.

Welfare of minor to be paramount consideration:

(1) In the appointment or declaration of any person as guardian of a Hindu minor

by a court, the welfare of the minor shall be the paramount consideration.

(2) No person shall be entitled to the guardianship by virtue of the provisions of

this Act or of any law relating to guardianship in marriage among Hindus, if the
court is of opinion that his or her guardianship will not be for the welfare of the
minor according to section 13 of the act.

Explanation:

 What constitutes the welfare of the minor has to be determined by the court
after a careful consideration of the facts and circumstances of the case, as the
Act does not lay down any tests or guidelines to determine what is for the
welfare of the minor.
 The court has to take into account all relevant facts on record and to decide
whether father or mother should be appointed as a guardian of the minor.
While arriving at this conclusion, the welfare of the minor alone will be
supreme consideration. It is not necessary for the court to appoint father
alone as a guardian in preference to mother under s.6. That section is further
controlled by s.13 (2) which gives ample power and jurisdiction to the court
not to appoint a person as a guardian if it is the opinion of the court that
such appointment was not in the interest of the minor. The expression
"welfare" is wide enough to include material as well as spiritual welfare. The
 court has to consider as to what order would be best for securing the welfare
and happiness of the minors. The welfare of the children cannot at the same
time be confined to either physical comfort or the comfort that money can
secure. The children have to be properly brought up, educated in healthy
surroundings in order to enable them to have the benefits of educations and
also to secure a footing in life later on. Where mother of minor children aged
above 5 years, was unable to maintain herself or her children while father
was earning substantial amount and as a position to look after the children
and educate them, held, the welfare of the children compels that they should
be allowed to remain with the father, rather than with the mother.

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
N agpur 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 this 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 guardianrdianship by affinity.

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.Facto Guardian.