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Section 6: Saving of power to appoint in other cases

Guardians and Wards Act • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide

Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 1890
Section 5 All 53 Sections of Guardians and Wards Act Section 7

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 6

Section 6 establishes statutory savings preserving the operation of personal laws regarding who is legally entitled to act as a guardian of a minor's person or property.

  • Saving of Personal Laws: Explicitly declares that in the case of any minor who is not a European British subject, nothing in this Act shall take away or derogate from any power to appoint a guardian of his person or property which is valid by the law to which the minor is subject.
  • Interplay with Personal Codes: Preserves natural guardianship under Hindu law (HMGA, 1956), Muslim law (hizanat), and Christian personal law.
  • Subordination to Minor's Welfare: Read with Section 17, personal law entitlements yield whenever the welfare of the child requires appointing another competent person.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Gaurav Nagpal v. Sumedha Nagpal (2009) 1 SCC 42: The Supreme Court held that while Section 6 saves personal law entitlements, personal law is merely one of the factors; it must yield completely to the paramount welfare of the minor under Section 17.
  • Nil Ratan Kundu v. Abhijit Kundu (2008) 9 SCC 413: The Supreme Court held that moral fitness, financial security, and emotional stability take precedence over personal law rights saved under Section 6.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

When the opposite party claims custody solely on the basis of a personal law privilege (e.g., father asserting paramountcy under sharia or shastric texts), cite Section 6 r/w Gaurav Nagpal. Welfare of the minor overrides personal law preferences.

Section 5 All 53 Sections of Guardians and Wards Act Section 7