Q: Difference between Custody and Guardianship?

Ans: Placing reliance on the Black's Law Dictionary, the Supreme Court observed that 'Guardian' is a person lawfully invested with the power, and charged with the duty of taking care of the person and managing the property and rights of another person, who, for defect of age, understanding, or self-control, is considered incapable of administering his own affairs; and 'Custody' means the care and control of a thing or person, as also the keeping, guarding, care, watch, inspection, preservation or security of a thing, carrying with it the idea of the thing being within the immediate personal care and control of the person to whose custody it is subjected, as also the immediate charge and control, and not the final, absolute control of ownership, implying responsibility for the protection and preservation of the thing in custody.

Thus, while 'guardianship' is a larger concept that concerns both, child, and its property, 'custody' is confined to its person. Guardianship rights and custodial rights may sometimes rest in the same person.