GUARDIANSHIP AND CHILD CUSTODY UNDER MUSLIM LAW AND SUGGESTED REFORMS
AUTHOR – AYUSHI MISHRA, STUDENT AT BANASTHALI VIDYAPEETH
BEST CITATION – AYUSHI MISHRA, GUARDIANSHIP AND CHILD CUSTODY UNDER MUSLIM LAW AND SUGGESTED REFORMS, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 5 (8) OF 2025, PG. 827-838, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344
Abstract
The laws are not static they changes with the demand of time. The law governing custody of children is closely linked with that of guardianship. Guardianship in Muslim Law refers to a bundle of rights and powers that an adult has in relation to the person and property of a minor Muslim, while custody is a narrower concept relating to the upbringing and day-to-day care and control of the minor. The term custody‘ is not defined in any Indian family law, whether secular or religious. The term guardian‘ is defined by the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 (hereinafter, GWA) as a ―person having the care of the person of a minor or of his property or of both his person and property[1].
For eradicating the loopholes in guardianship law under Muslim law there sine quo non reforms should be applied. Changes that are necessary in section 17,19 and 25 of guardianship and wards act,1890 reforms suggested by law commission report 257 on custody laws. Reform in Islamic law on custody and guardianship as In Muslim law, for very young children, the mother is preferred to be the custodian, but the father always remains the natural guardian. The face of unequal child custody arrangements should be changing. This trend has arisen largely in a response to changing familial roles (male care takers taking on more child rearing responsibilities) as well psychological studies revealing that the involvement of both parents in child rearing is preferable to sole custody arrangements[2]. However, such preferences for shared custody are often balanced with the ―best interest of the child standard and interest.
Keywords – Guardianship, Miner, Custody, Best interest, Children, Care, Welfare.
[1] Guardian and Wards Act, No. 8 of 1890] S. 4(2)
[2] Glover, R. & Steel, C., Comparing the Effects on the Child of Post-Divorce Parenting Arrangements, Journal of Divorce, Vol. 12 No. 2-3 (1989