Court tells mum child is no commodity, denies her custody

The Sessions court refused custody of a minor to his mother, who tried to claim ownership over the child, observing that the child cannot be treated as property or a commodity.

The court was hearing an appeal filed by a family against an order passed by the lower court in a domestic violence case filed against the family by the mother of the child.

Vanshika Thakker, a resident of Mumbai had filed a domestic violence case against Rajesh Thakker and his entire family alleging that the family had tortured her mentally as well as physically. The two had married in the May 2007 and had a boy. However, due to problems in the relationship they separated. The court, in its order copy, mentions that for the last three years the mother was not staying with her son. Along with an application for seeking the monthly maintenance amount, she had also sought custody of the child.

The lower court had granted the lady a monthly maintenance amount of Rs 10,000. She was also given custody of the child. Rajesh Thakker, however, had challenged the lower court's order claiming that the maintenance amount was too high.

While deciding on the point of maintenance, the sessions court refused to interfere in the lower court's order citing lack of evidence produced by Rajesh on the basis of his salary proof.

The Session's court while deciding on the appeal said, "The issue of handing over the custody (of the minor child) cannot be decided casually by taking into consideration the prima facie pleadings of one party alone. A child cannot be treated as property or a commodity. In the opinion of this court, it would not be proper to pass any order regarding the transfer of the custody of a minor from father to mother."

The court refused to hand over custody to the mother on grounds that the child had been away from his mother for more than three and half years.