{"id":334034,"date":"2024-10-28T18:00:06","date_gmt":"2024-10-28T12:30:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?p=334034"},"modified":"2024-10-31T10:17:17","modified_gmt":"2024-10-31T04:47:17","slug":"kerala-high-court-custody-infant-breastfeeding-mother","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2024\/10\/28\/kerala-high-court-custody-infant-breastfeeding-mother\/","title":{"rendered":"CWC’s orders must prioritize child’s best interests over personal moral values; Kerala High Court grants custody of infant to breastfeeding mother"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Kerala High Court:<\/span> In a writ petition filed by a new mother against the order passed by the Child Welfare Committee (‘CWC’), finding her unfit to look after her baby aged one year and four months and gave custody of the baby to her husband, V.G. Arun, J. while noting that the CWC did not consider the fact that the child was being breastfed by the wife, when it hastily granted custody to the husband, directed the husband to handover custody of the child to the wife. Further, the Court said that the CWC deemed the mother unfit based on the subjective views of its members. The fact that the mother chose to live with someone other than her husband should not be the Committee’s concern.<\/p>\n

Background:<\/h3>\n

The wife left her husband, citing ongoing mental and physical harassment. Following her departure, the husband filed a complaint, resulting in an FIR under Section 57 of the Kerala Police Act. After staying with her mother, the wife eloped with a man, prompting the husband to lodge another complaint, leading to a second FIR. The police subsequently presented the wife to the 1st Class Judicial Magistrate, who, upon confirming that she was 23 years old and had chosen to live with the other man voluntarily, set her at liberty. The Magistrate, however, ordered the police to present the child to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) for further assessment, believing the child might need care and protection. On 23-09-2024, the wife and her child were brought before the CWC, which granted custody of the child to the husband after he provided a written undertaking. In light of these circumstances, the petitioner has filed a writ petition seeking specific relief.<\/p>\n

The wife submitted that the baby is being breastfed by her and by reason of the impugned order, the child is deprived of mother’s milk.<\/p>\n

Analysis and Decision:<\/h3>\n

The Court highlighted three of the general principles to be followed in the administration of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015<\/a>, (‘the Act’) which are Principle of dignity and worth; Principle of best interest; and Principles of natural justice.<\/p>\n

The Court remarked that if the above principles are scrupulously followed, by the CWC treating all persons with equal dignity, keeping the best interest of the child in mind while taking decisions and ensuring fairness in procedure, there will be a marked difference in its decision-making process and the decision itself.<\/p>\n

The Court said that the impugned order was passed on the day the child was produced before the CWC, without conducting any enquiry or affording reasonable opportunity of hearing to the wife.<\/p>\n

The Court emphasised that for the CWC to invoke its powers under the Act<\/a>, the child produced before the Committee, must be a child in need of care and protection as defined in Section 2(14)<\/a> of the Act<\/a>. For Section 2(14)(v) to be attracted, the parent or guardian should be found unfit or incapacitated.<\/p>\n

Concerning the question that whether the CWC is having the power decide the right to custody when both parents are capable of and willing to look after the child, the Court reiterated that the Committee’s role would arise only when both parents are not in a position to take care or protect the child or children. The parens patriae<\/span> principle would enable intervention by the CWC for protecting the child and acting as its parent only when the biological parents fail to take care and protect the child.<\/p>\n

The Court remarked that the CWC deemed the mother unfit based on the subjective views of its members. The fact that the mother chose to live with someone other than her husband should not be the Committee’s concern. While the Committee may judge her actions against their moral standards, this does not inherently make her a bad mother. The Court emphasized that personal moral values often lead to biased judgments and said that the order reflects the moral bias of the Committee members rather than an objective assessment of the mother’s suitability.<\/p>\n

The Court mentioned that the CWC did not consider the fact that the child was being breastfed when it hastily granted custody to the husband.<\/p>\n

The Court accepted the wife’s submission that separating a one-year-and-four-month-old baby from its mother infringes upon the mother’s right to breastfeed and the child’s right to be breastfeed. This right is a fundamental aspect of the right to life under Article 21<\/a> of the Constitution<\/a>. Furthermore, the Constitution<\/a> places a duty on the State to enhance nutritional standards, which implicitly supports the practice of breastfeeding.<\/p>\n

The Court expressed its dismay at the fact that, due to the impugned order, the baby has been separated from its mother for nearly a month, depriving the child of the essential care, comfort, and love that are crucial at this developmental stage. The Court noted that the CWC failed to take these significant factors into account. As a result, the Court held that the impugned order cannot withstand legal scrutiny and raises serious concerns about the well-being of both the mother and child.<\/p>\n

The Court, while rejecting the submission of the husband that the writ petition is not maintainable due to the alternative remedy available under Section 27(10)<\/a> of the Act<\/a>, said that the impugned order was issued in violation of the principles of natural justice, which significantly impinges upon the fundamental rights of both the wife and the child. Therefore, the Court determined that the writ petition is indeed maintainable.<\/p>\n

Therefore, the Court directed the husband to handover custody of the child to the wife. Further, the Station House Officer was directed to ensure that the husband complies with the above direction.<\/p>\n

[X v. State, 2024 SCC OnLine Ker 6166<\/a>, decided on 25-10-2024<\/span>]<\/p>\n

Buy Constitution of India  HERE<\/a><\/h3>\n

\"Constitution<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Judged by moral standards of the CWC members, the petitioner may not be a good person, but that does not make her a bad mother.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67512,"featured_media":316393,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,10],"tags":[35734,74600,74599,13191,31418,54604,3268,74601,31420,2523,2805,72093],"class_list":["post-334034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-casebriefs","category-highcourts","tag-article-21-of-constitution","tag-best-interests-of-the-child","tag-breastfeeding-mother","tag-child-custody","tag-child-welfare-committee","tag-cwc","tag-Fundamental_Rights","tag-infant-welfare","tag-juvenile-justice-act","tag-Kerala_High_Court","tag-natural_justice","tag-parental-rights"],"yoast_head":"\nKerala High Court grants custody of infant to breastfeeding mother, asks CWC's to prioritize child's best interests over personal moral values | SCC Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Kerala High Court granted custody of an infant to the breastfeeding mother, emphasizing that CWC must prioritize child's best interests over the personal moral values of its members.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2024\/10\/28\/kerala-high-court-custody-infant-breastfeeding-mother\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"CWC's orders must prioritize child's best interests over personal moral values; 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Orissa HC restores custody of infant girl with biological parents accused of abandoning her and kidnapping male child from hospital","author":"Editor","date":"February 3, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cThe inalienable rights of the infant child supersede all the attending adverse circumstances alleged against the biological parents of the baby. Notwithstanding the pendency of the criminal proceeding, the petitioners were entitled to claim custody of the infant being biological parents under the \u2018tender years doctrine\u2019.\u201d","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Orissa High Court","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Orissa-High-Court.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Orissa-High-Court.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Orissa-High-Court.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Orissa-High-Court.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":380711,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/04\/10\/ker-hc-father-gets-custody-of-child-placed-in-orphanage-by-mother\/","url_meta":{"origin":334034,"position":2},"title":"Mother placing child in hostel meant for orphans not in his best interests; Kerala HC grants custody to father","author":"Sunaina","date":"April 10, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cThe child stated that he was not being properly looked after while staying with his grandmother, and that he was not provided adequate food, particularly in the mornings and that his only substantial meal was the lunch provided at school. However, the father, his sister, and the child\u2019s grandfather extended\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Father gets custody of child placed in orphanage","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Father-gets-custody-of-child-placed-in-orphanage.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Father-gets-custody-of-child-placed-in-orphanage.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Father-gets-custody-of-child-placed-in-orphanage.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Father-gets-custody-of-child-placed-in-orphanage.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":295400,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2023\/06\/26\/minor-impregnated-by-her-brother-kerala-high-court-bats-safe-sex-education\/","url_meta":{"origin":334034,"position":3},"title":"[Minor impregnated by her own brother] Kerala High Court bats for \u2018safe sex education\u2019 in schools and colleges","author":"Ridhi","date":"June 26, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Kerala High Court expressed that this happened because of the lack of knowledge about the safe sex. Minor children are in front of \u2018internet\u2019 and \u2018google search\u2019. There is no guidance for the children.","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"kerala high court","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/kerala-high-court.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/kerala-high-court.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/kerala-high-court.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/kerala-high-court.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":213208,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2019\/04\/04\/kar-hc-mentally-disabled-child-referred-to-child-welfare-committee-where-family-members-were-not-capable-of-taking-care-of-him\/","url_meta":{"origin":334034,"position":4},"title":"Kar HC | Mentally disabled child referred to Child Welfare Committee where family members were not capable of taking care of him","author":"Bhumika Indulia","date":"April 4, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Karnataka High Court: The Division Bench of K.N. Phaneendra and K. Natarajan, JJ. allowed a habeas corpus petition filed by the maternal grandfather of a child and gave directions for care and protection of the child.\u00a0 The instant petition was filed to produce the petitioner\u2019s grandson aged 14 years (detenue)\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":376418,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/02\/23\/tripura-hc-habeas-corpus-in-child-custody-restored-to-mother\/","url_meta":{"origin":334034,"position":5},"title":"Custody by CCI without judicial authorisation amounts to unlawful detention; Tripura HC restores minor\u2019s custody to mother","author":"Editor","date":"February 23, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cThe Mother and child love and affection is more relevant than anything else. The laws are made for the citizens but citizens are not born for the laws. No law can deprive the child or mother from their bondage, love and affection and the relation cannot be denied.\u201d","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"habeas corpus in child custody","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/habeas-corpus-in-child-custody.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/habeas-corpus-in-child-custody.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/habeas-corpus-in-child-custody.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/habeas-corpus-in-child-custody.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/67512"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=334034"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334034\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/316393"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=334034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=334034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=334034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}