A woman is fighting a "dehumanizing" law in India that mandates unwed mothers to declare how she conceived her child in order for the child to be issued a passport
The controversy came to light when the court heard a case where Sania Akram, 21, was refused by the passport authority when she tried to put her step-father's name in her passport, reports Times of India. She alternately tried using the name of her mother, who has permanant custody of her, but was also refused.
The passport authority would require Akram to use her biological father's name who abandoned her at birth.
While discussing this issue in court, Justice Kanade asked, "We were wondering what happens in case of unwed mothers?"
Advocate Purnima Bhatia, appearing for the foreign ministry, said the details of the rules cannot be used in court because they are part of the passport manual, which is a classified document, reports Times of India. She briefed the rule, saying an unwed mother must file an affidavit stating "how she has conceived" and "if she was raped" and why she does not want the father's name included.
"These are ridiculous rules the government is making," Mumbai-based women's-rights lawyer Flavia Agnes tells TIME. "Why should she say whether she was raped or whether she had consensual sex?"
Akram's plea with be decided by the court on Nov. 12.
