Supreme Court: In a matter concerning child’s custody, the division bench of A.S. Bopanna and Manoj Misra, JJ. has modified a condition imposed by the Family Court requiring a father to meet the child on the Court’s premises and allowed the father to meet the child in a mall.
A special leave petition was filed against the judgment and order dated 10-01-2023 passed by the Kerala High Court.
The Court noted that the Family Court, through its order had granted the visitation rights of the child to the petitioner/father between 11:00 a m to 04:00 pm on Sundays in court premises. The High Court did not, however, interfere with the said order. Thus, father filed the present petition.
The Court said that the High Court rightly observed that the welfare of the child is to be kept in view by the Court. However, the repeated visitation rights in the Court premises, would also not be in the interest of the child as the environment during which the visitation rights are exercised, would also matter.
Therefore, the Court directed that the interim custody of the child to be handed over to the father by the mother at the entrance of the RP Mall, Kollam, Kerala at 11:00 a.m on Sundays. The father may take the child to the said mall and exercise the visitation rights till 02:00 pm of the same day. The custody of the child shall be handed over to the mother at the same spot where the child was handed over to the father at 02:00 pm.
The matter will next be taken up on 31-10-2023.
[Adarsh C.B. v Aswathy Sidharthan, Petition(s) for Special Leave to Appeal (C) No(s). 2437/2023, Order dated 31-10-2023]
Advocates who appeared in this case :
For Petitioner(s): Advocate Sriram Parakkat, Advocate-On-Record Nishe Rajen Shonker, Advocate Anu K Joy, Advocate Abraham C. Mathew, Advocate Alim Anvar
For Respondent(s): Advocate Tanya Aggarwal, Advocate Arkaj Kumar, Advocate-On-Record Neelam Singh
