Divorced NRI parents in SC over US visit of minor daughter

The girl’s mother, Nandini Chaudhary, approached the apex court against a Calcutta High Court order allowing her former husband Rana Roy’s plea that the child’s mother should bring her to the US to meet him, at his cost.

Perusing the facts of the case, a Bench comprising Justices C K Thakker and L S Panta, said it is a case in which the ‘child is the sufferer’.

The Bench, on being told that child was not called by the US court. “The wish of the child is also very important,” the Bench said and issued notice to girl’s father.

Chaudhary, who has re-married and has a child with second husband in Kolkata, alleged Roy obtained an ex-parte order from a court in the US for the girl’s visit to that country.

She submitted that her former husband has also filed an application before the authorities in India for the cancellation of status of Overseas Citizen India (OCI) granted to her daughter.

Chaudhary said if during the child’s visit to the US her OCI status was cancelled by Indian authorities, she (the girl) would have to stay back in America in the capacity of a US citizen.

However, Roy’s counsel said Chaudhary filed the petition in a court in New Delhi as the US court’s order was not in her favour.

During the hearing, Roy’s counsel said since all of them had US citizenship they had accepted the jurisdiction of that country and the couple’s marriage was dissolved through a decree of mutual divorce in a court in New Jersey.

Chaudhary in her petition said under the terms and condition of the divorce, the US court had granted mother the custody of the child and father had the visitation right.

Her counsel said the moment child goes to the US, the order of the New Jersey court will become operative.