Delhi: He left son decades ago, now denied grandson’s custody

The court took into account its interaction with the minor, who said that he had been “raised well single-handedly” by his mother.
The minor’s parents separated in 2004. “He is happy with his mother and her family, and is not inclined at all to even meet the petitioner,” the court said.

“Needless to say, the efforts of the respondent in bringing up the child single-handedly, there being no support from her husband or his family members, should be lauded. Every single woman who raises the child single-handedly makes the best efforts at her end, without being supported by her in-laws, and it should be appreciated,” the court said.

According to court records, the man sought custody of the grandson while claiming that the boy’s mother faced a case of cheating, had no regular source of income, and was not capable of looking after the boy. He said that his own son, the boy’s father, was a drug addict and had divorced his wife four years ago.

In his petition filed in 2012 under the Guardian and Wards Act, the grandfather said that he was a retired employee of the Animal Husbandry Department, receiving Rs 27,500 as monthly pension and Rs 19,000 as rental income. He said he can provide “better amenities” to the boy than his daughter-in-law, who left his son due to “personal differences”.

“It is stated that the welfare of the minor, moral and religious, is with the petitioner who is sentimentally attached with his grandson… wishes of the respondent cannot override the welfare of the child,” stated the petition filed by lawyer Sudhir Vats on behalf of the grandfather.

Vats also submitted that the boy’s mother had initially filed a maintenance petition in which she submitted that she had no source of income, but she withdrew it later. The boy’s mother responded that the grandfather had severed all ties with her and his own son when they were together, and even published a notice in a newspaper to make it public.

In her response, filed through lawyer Pradeep Khatri, the boy’s mother also pointed out that she had been working intermittently to provide for the boy, a Class XI student. The court noted that the man had left his own son in his mother’s care in the early 1990s, following his decision to remarry — and that the minor’s parents had separated in 2004.

It said the petitioner is neither the “natural or legal guardian” of the minor and the prayer made under Section 25 (1) of the Guardians Act was “not maintainable”. Section 25(1) of the Act makes it clear that guardians may approach the court in cases of children who have been removed from their custody.

The court further said that the petitioner has not produced any evidence on record to show that the mother is not looking after the “best interests” of the child or that the child is not being sent to school.