The Bombay high court recently gave a significant judgement, upholding the welfare of the child as the most important factor in a custody battle between her divorced parents. The HC shifted custody of a 13-year-old minor- who had lived with her father for over seven years- to her mother, after it was pointed out that the girl was anxious and emotional while in the father's custody and longed to live with her mother.
The Bombay high court recently gave a significant judgement, upholding the welfare of the child as the most important factor in a custody battle between her divorced parents. The HC shifted custody of a 13-year-old minor- who had lived with her father for over seven years- to her mother, after it was pointed out that the girl was anxious and emotional while in the father's custody and longed to live with her mother.
A division bench of Justice Ranjit More and Justice Anuja Prabhudessai, who interviewed the girl, noted "From our interactions with the child we are satisfied that the child was mature enough to take such a difficult and painful decision of choosing between the two parents, both of whom she loves immensely and equally. We are satisfied that the decision of the child is not emotionally manoeuvred but is a conscious decision."
The court allowed the child to be taken to Denmark, where the woman has migrated. The father is allowed to be in contact with the child through social networking or electronic media. He can also visit Denmark giving advance notice, and the girl can visit India twice a year during her vacations.
The woman had approached the Bombay HC to challenge a family court's order rejecting her application seeking to modify the consent terms.
The HC rejected the arguments of the father that uprooting the child from the local environment and compelling her to adjust to a foreign country, culture and education system would adversely impact her development and overall growth.
The bench said "Young children are more resilient than adults are and they learn and adapt quickly and find their own ways to cope with any new situation and surroundings. In the instance case, the child is at an age where she would have no difficulty in gelling with the new culture and country."
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