Bombay HC rejects custody of child to father with ‘anger issues’
The bench noted that in spite of making police complaints against the alleged violent and abusive conduct of the petitioner, the woman made an attempt to reconcile.
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The HC observed that the child still had not developed roots in the USA, Singapore or India and as her welfare was of “paramount importance”, she should remain with her mother.The Bombay High Court on Wednesday, while rejecting a habeas corpus petition by a UK citizen – a father of a 3-year-old girl seeking custody of the child from his estranged wife, an Indian citizen – said that it will not be safe to handover custody to the father because of his anger issues and it will be in the ‘best interest’ of the child that she be allowed to stay with her mother in India.
The 41-year-old man and the woman got married in 2018 in New York and after the child was born in March, 2020, the couple lived separately for six months due to marital disputes. They later signed a reconciliation agreement and moved to Singapore. In September, last year, the couple surrendered their ‘green card’ in the USA, and after two months, the wife came to India with her daughter to Thane and did not return to Singapore.
The man then filed a plea in a Singapore court, which ordered joint custody of the child. In February this year, he approached the Bombay High Court seeking a direction for his estranged wife to comply with the Singapore court’s order as well as custody of the child.
The HC observed that the child still had not developed roots in the USA, Singapore or India and as her welfare was of “paramount importance”, she should remain with her mother. “An important factor to be considered is that the child is a girl of a tender age of three and half years and thus requires the care and affection of her mother. Considering the past conduct of the petitioner having anger issues, it will not be safe to hand over custody of the child to him,” a division bench of Justice Revati Mohite-Dere and Justice Gauri V Godse observed in a judgement passed on Wednesday.
Appearing for the petitioner, senior advocate Geeta Luthra said the child was brought to India illegally by his estranged wife. Senior advocate Lata Desai, representing the estranged wife, said he had anger issues and physically abused the wife in the past. Following which she had to return to India for the child’s safety.
The HC said the woman was justified in coming to India with the child and that “it cannot be said she has illegally detained the child in India”. It further noted that in spite of making police complaints against the alleged violent and abusive conduct of the petitioner, the woman made an attempt to reconcile and they started to live together after signing a reconciliation agreement.
The petitioner had agreed to no unsupervised access to the child. The bench noted that even after the said agreement, there were police complaints against the petitioner in USA and in Singapore.
The bench also noted that the conduct of either of the parties should not deprive the child’s right of having the company of both parents. “In the battle of the parents, the child should not suffer,” the verdict stated. It added that the woman had not kept the child away from the petitioner as she has been keeping the petitioner informed about the child’s welfare and has also been permitting video calls between the father and the minor daughter.
Dismissing the plea, the HC said the issue regarding visitation rights be considered by a competent court dealing with proceedings related to the custody of the child.
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