New Delhi, Feb. 18 -- A child raised exclusively by her mother cannot be compelled to carry her father's name, surname and caste merely because a format once demanded it, the Bombay High Court has said while permitting a girl to change her name and caste in school records.

Justices Vibha Kankanwadi and Hiten Venegavkar of the Aurangabad bench said in their February 2 judgement, a copy of which was made available on Wednesday, that recognition of a single mother as a complete parent for purposes of a child's civic identity is not an act of charity but constitutional fidelity.

"It reflects the movement from patriarchal compulsion to constitutional choice, from lineage as fate to dignity as right," the HC said.

A society that claims to be...