Natural guardianship for mothers can arise during the father's lifetime where he is absent, indifferent, or unable to care for the child.

Section 6(a) of the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956 and section 19(b) of the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 were construed to allow the mother to act as natural guardian during the father's lifetime where the father is absent in the relevant sense, indifferent, incapacitated, or otherwise not in actual charge of the minor. The welfare of the minor was treated as paramount, and a literal reading confining the mother's role to the father's death was rejected. The word "after" was read as "in the absence of" the father, preserving the provisions consistently with constitutional equality and avoiding invalidity.

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Issues: Whether section 6(a) of the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956 and section 19(b) of the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 should be construed to permit the mother to act as natural guardian during the father's lifetime when the father is absent, indifferent, or unable to care for the minor, and whether a literal reading excluding the mother would violate the constitutional guarantees of equality.

Analysis: The statutory definitions of "guardian" and "natural guardian" were read together with section 6, and the welfare of the minor was treated as the paramount consideration. A literal construction that confined the mother's guardianship only to the father's death was rejected because the Legislature is presumed to act constitutionally and a construction that saves the provision from invalidity is preferred. The word "after" was held to mean "in the absence of" the father, including situations of indifference, mutual arrangement, physical or mental incapacity, or other circumstances where the father is not in actual charge of the minor. This construction was supported by earlier authority and by the obligation to give due regard to international conventions on discrimination against women.

Conclusion: The mother can act as natural guardian even during the father's lifetime when the father is absent in the relevant sense, and the impugned provisions were not struck down but were construed consistently with constitutional equality and the welfare of the child.

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