Don’t want child to go back to shelter home, we’ll take care of her: HC

The child has been living with her Italian guardian in Pune since July 2011, when a family court passed an ex-parte order.

Concerned over the ongoing legal battle between an Italian national and his estranged Goan wife for the custody of their minor girl, whose guardianship was granted to them in 2010, the Bombay High Court on Wednesday remarked that it was now the responsibility of the the court to take care of the child. The court said the thought of the minor girl going back to a shelter home was worrisome, as the case involved adoption by a foreign national.

“What is bothering us is that we can decide on the appeals (of the couple) and remand the matter back to the family court, but that will not solve the problem. Since it is a case of foreign adoption, the child may be sent to the shelter home. We don’t want that to happen,” said a division bench of Justices V M Kanade and A K Menon.

The court had, in November last year, allowed the woman to visit the six-year-old girl three days every alternate week. The child has been living with her Italian guardian in Pune since July 2011, when a family court passed an ex-parte order in favour of the husband.

The woman’s lawyers Rohaan Cama and Edith Dey pleaded before the court that the custody of the child be given to the wife as the child was growing up without a mother. The lawyer appearing for the Italian national, however, urged the court to remand the case back to the Family Court. “The matter should be remanded back so that it can be decided if a foreign national can adopt an Indian child. The adoption is not in conflict with the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) guidelines,” he said.

In the court’s view, the interest of the girl was of prime importance. The court posted the matter for final hearing on April 23. The couple were granted guardianship of the girl three years ago.

aamir.khan@expressindia.com

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