Mentally ill person can take custody of child, says court

THE COURT MADE THE OBSERVATIONS WHILE DISMISSING AN APPEAL FILED BY THE CHILD'S FATHER AGAINST A MAGISTRATE COURT'S ORDER DIRECTING HIM TO HAND OVER THE CUSTODY OF HIS CHILD TEMPORARILY TO THE MOTHER

- Revu Suresh

MUMBAI: A person with a mental illness is not disqualified from taking custody of a child unless it is proved that the illness endangers the child's welfare, the sessions court said recently while granting temporary custody of a minor boy to his mother.

The court made the observations while dismissing an appeal filed by the child's father against a magistrate court's order directing him to hand over the custody of his child temporarily to the mother, his estranged wife, till May 15.

The mother, a 45-year-old woman, had filed a plea at the magistrate court under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence (DV) Act.