The Legality of Relation.
The Karnataka High Court recently declined to interfere with a family court ruling denying the father of the young daughter custody because he had not made his home a welcoming place for the child to live.
The father had applied to the court for temporary custody of the daughter from Friday to Sunday, shared custody on all holidays and on her birthday, as well as the right to daily video call with his daughter.
The family court, however, granted the request in part and ruled that the petitioner is entitled to three days of vacation-related workday visitation with the minor child in the family court’s visitation room throughout all vacation periods.
The husband argued that as the daughter’s father, he was also entitled to visitation and legal custody of the child.
The Issues
The wife argued against the claim, claiming that anytime the child was with the husband, the environment was never healthy. According to the allegation, “The child fears staying with the father because the father has hired a stranger named Vijay, who even sleeps with the same father in order to take pictures to show that the child and father have a good relationship.”
The bench observed after reviewing the documents that the petitioner had personally included several photos to the petition in an effort to show that the girl child or daughter has a good relationship with him. According to the wife, who describes in full how the photos were obtained, it appears that a stranger took them.
Judicial Perspective
Justice M. Nagaprasanna dismissed the father’s petition for equal parenting rights with his wife, pointing out that when parents fight over their egos, the child suffers the consequences.
The interfaith couple, who are both Bengaluru natives, wed in 2005 and welcomed a child in 2014. When issues arose, the mom and her 4-year-old kid started living apart. The husband soon started legal processes for the child’s custody and judicial separation.
The mother filed a complaint with the HC, claiming that her husband had failed to provide for their daughter’s needs, particularly in terms of her privacy, security, or best interests, and that he frequently left the child with a stranger who used to capture pictures or videos of her.
In these circumstances, the Court found that the father did not foster a friendly environment. “The girl child prefers to be with her mother in her best interest, and psychologically it is assumed that the mother-child bond is the best.”
The bench stated that the wife and husband had been fighting continuously for the past five years, and the young daughter has watched her parents fight since she was just four years old. According to this opinion, children suffer harm when parents argue over their “egos” in situations like these.
The high court overturned the family court order and the husband’s several attempts before the Supreme Court, including by submitting a review petition, in light of these circumstances. He went back to the family court and asked for equal custody, which was denied, but he was given three days of vacation visitation between the hours of 1 and 5 pm in the Bengaluru family court’s child visitation room.
Before the top court, the spouse contested the aforementioned order. The mother argued that the child was afraid to stay with her father because he had hired a stranger who shared a bed with him. According to reports, the stranger snapped pictures of the father and child resting next to one another to prove to the court that the youngster was well-cared for.
“The minor child lacks the maturity or intellect to deal with the problems in the adult relationship or the discontent of the parent. The parents are required to participate in their child’s upbringing at all levels, including social, physical, emotional, and material assistance.
Conclusion
Thereafter it held There is always going to be impairment in a troubled marriage. Because of the above-mentioned factors and in the girl’s best interest, I do not believe there is enough evidence to overturn the court’s decision to deny custody and instead provide visitation rights exclusively in this case.
The court said, “The girl child likes to stay with her mother in her best interest, and psychologically it is assumed that the relationship between the child and mother is the finest.
