In Brief
A widow remarried and gave her minor child—fathered by her deceased first husband—the surname of her second husband and subsequently had him adopted by her new husband. The paternal grandparents sought guardianship and challenged the surname change. The High Court ruled the mother could be guardian but directed restoration of the biological father's surname. The Supreme Court held that a mother is the sole natural guardian after the father's death and has the unfettered right to decide the child's surname, including giving the child her new husband's surname and permitting adoption. The Court set aside the High Court's directions as they were not sought in the original petition, violating procedural principles that relief cannot be granted beyond pleadings."
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