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Allahabad High Court: In a habeas corpus writ petition filed by the father seeking custody of infant child after the mother’s death, the Single Judge Bench of Sandeep Jain,* J., granted custody to the father with visitation rights to the maternal relatives., holding that the father, being the natural guardian, is the most suitable person for custody and denying custody at this stage may result in the child growing up without any emotional attachment to the father, which would be detrimental to the child’s overall development.
Background
In the instant matter, after the death of the mother on 10 February 2025, that the minor, 13 months old, was in the custody of the maternal aunt and uncle of the minor. It was contended by the father that he is entitled to the custody of the minor as he is the natural and legal guardian and also that he is both financially sound and capable of maintaining the minor with proper upbringing. Therefore, no legal justification exists to deny him the custody of the minor.
Analysis
The Court relied on Gautam Kumar Das v. NCT of Delhi, (2024) 10 SCC 588, where the Supreme Court held that granting temporary custody of minor child to a relative would not preclude the natural guardian from seeking custody of the minor child. The Court reiterated that in proceedings of a writ of habeas corpus in child custody matters, the welfare of the child is the paramount consideration.
The Court observed that there were no criminal proceedings pending against the father in relation to death of the mother and that the mere fact that the death occurred during a failed IVF procedure could not be attributed to the petitioner so as to disentitle him from custody. It was further noted that the petitioner had sufficient financial means, stable living conditions, and family support. No material on record was placed to establish that he was unfit or incapable of discharging his parental responsibilities.
The Court also considered that, “the corpus is only about 13 months old. If custody is not entrusted to the father at this stage, there is a real possibility of the child growing up without forming any emotional bond with him, which would be detrimental to the child’s overall development and the father’s parental rights”.
Also Read: Father’s Forceful Custody of Minor Does Not Amount to Illegal Detention: Allahabad High Court
Decision
Considering the facts and the paramount welfare of the minor, the Court found no justification to deny custody of the minor to his father and accordingly directed the custody to the father.
However, to preserve the emotional bond of the child with the maternal family, visitation rights were granted to the respondent aunt and uncle. The Court clarified that in event of any adverse circumstance to the welfare of the minor, the private respondents were allowed to approach this Court in accordance with law.
[Akshit Pandey v. State of U.P., HABC No. 365 of 2025, decided on 21-4-2026]
Advocates who appeared in this case:
For the petitioner: Akhilesh Kumar Mishra, Devbratt Yadav, Gaurav Singh, Ram Pratap Yadav
For the respondent: Pramod Kumar Srivastava, G.A., Manjari Singh
