The Bombay High Court, in a recent ruling on October 5, granted custody of a child to his aunt, citing concerns over the mother's severe psychological issues and the father's aggressive behaviour, reports PTI.
Justice RI Chagla, presiding over a single bench, emphasised the importance of considering both the moral and ethical well-being of the child, along with their physical health, in such cases.
The court's decision came in response to a petition filed by the child's aunt, seeking guardianship and custody, states the report.
Justice Chagla personally interacted with the child and observed the strong emotional bond between the child and the petitioner, who had cared for the child since birth.
“The moral and ethical welfare of the child must also weigh with the court as well as his/her physical well-being,” the bench said.
The role of the court in exercising its 'parens patriae' jurisdiction applied in the present case despite the petitioner not being a parent but an aunt of the child, Justice Chagla said.
“The biological mother has deep psychological issues and this was also noticed whilst the passing of this order in court as there was a huge commotion caused by her (biological mother), which disturbed the court proceedings. The respondent No 1 (biological father) is also very aggressive,” the court said.
“Having taken into consideration the welfare of the minor child whilst exercising 'parens patriae' jurisdiction, in my view, the welfare of the minor child will be best served by the petitioner and the petitioner is required to be declared the true and lawful guardian of the minor child,” it said.
Nevertheless, the court allowed the parents to have access to the child.
The woman who filed the petition argued that when the child was born, her brother and his wife, who suffered from psychological disorders, had agreed to entrust her with the baby's custody.
Accordingly, Wadia Hospital, where the child was born, issued the discharge card in the petitioner's name.
The woman, a widow with no children of her own, claimed she was in a better position financially to take care of the child's welfare. She also mentioned that the child became ill when visiting his parents' home, necessitating medical treatment, states PTI.
In March 2021, the child's father filed a complaint with the Bhoiwada police station in central Mumbai, accusing the petitioner of forcibly abducting the child without their consent and illegally detaining him.
In response to the complaint, the petitioner returned custody of the child to the parents. However, they later requested her to take the child back, claiming his health had deteriorated.
