HC: Child’s welfare trumps dad’s rights

THE COURT SAID THAT THE MINOR’S EMOTIONAL ATTACHMENT, COMFORT, AND PREFERENCE TO STAY WITH HIS MOTHER WAS MOST IMPORTANT

- Karuna Nidhi

The Bombay high court on Monday struck down a 2023 family court order directing a woman from Bidar, Karnataka to hand over the custody of her 9-year-old son to her estranged husband.

A single-judge bench of justice Shailesh P Brahme noted that under Muslim personal law, the father was entitled to custody after a child turned seven, but the court held that the boy’s welfare was most important and he would not be able to thrive in an environment where his own father felt like a stranger.