The PPF account was in the daughter's name, yet the father withdrew ₹8.13 lakh from it! Can parents withdraw your money?

Every parent starts saving money from their child's early years to ensure a secure future for them. Schemes like the Public Provident Fund (PPF) are highly popular for this purpose. But what happens if a father withdraws all the funds from a PPF account opened in his daughter's name? Does the law permit such an action?

Recently, a family and legal dispute involving this very issue came before the Delhi High Court, providing a clear answer to this important question.

What is the case about?
The case involves Sudhir Kwatra (the father) and his daughter, Shamli Kwatra. To secure his daughter's future, the father had opened a PPF account in her name at the Janakpuri branch of the State Bank of India (SBI) on December 9, 1999. At that time, the daughter was a minor.

Years passed. The PPF account matured on March 31, 2016. By then, a matrimonial dispute was ongoing between the parents, and the daughter was living with her mother. In September 2017, after coming of age, the daughter visited the bank to convert her 'minor' PPF account into a 'major' (regular) account, only to be left devastated. The bank informed her that the account had already been closed in October 2016 and that her father had withdrawn the entire accumulated amount of ₹8,13,853.79.

How did the father withdraw the money?
The father had submitted a written undertaking to the bank stating that "the money would be spent on the daughter's higher education and welfare." However, the daughter (who was pursuing a BBA degree at the time) alleged that she never received the funds and was struggling to cover her educational expenses. Consequently, she filed a recovery suit against her father. The Father's Argument
In court, the father admitted to withdrawing the money but offered the following arguments in his defense:

1. The action was taken in "good faith," and there was no intention to cause harm to his daughter.
2. He had already paid approximately ₹6 lakh towards his daughter's maintenance and was also paying ₹35,000 per month in maintenance to his wife, in compliance with an order from the Uttarakhand High Court.
3. He argued that the ₹8.13 lakh withdrawn from the PPF account should be adjusted against the maintenance amount.

Landmark Verdict by the Delhi High Court
In 2023, a lower court rejected the father's argument and ordered him to return the money to his daughter along with 8% interest. The father challenged this decision in the Delhi High Court. In August 2026, a bench led by Justice Neena Bansal Krishna delivered a clear and precedent-setting judgment on the matter.

The High Court clarified that bearing the day-to-day expenses (maintenance) for a child's upbringing is an "independent legal responsibility" of the parents. This obligation cannot be conflated with "investments" made for the child's future. The Court observed that although the father had opened the PPF account and acted as the guardian, the investment was made in the daughter's name; therefore, she held the sole legal right to those funds.

The Court's Final Order
Upholding the lower court's decision, the Delhi High Court ordered the father to return the entire withdrawn amount of ₹8,13,853.79 to his daughter. Additionally, he was directed to pay interest at the rate of 8% per annum, calculated based on the PPF interest rate applicable in 2016.

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