Hand over custody of Polish girl child to mother: SC to Himachal school

NEW DELHI: A 10-year-old Polish girl was reunited with her biological mother based in the United Kingdom as the Supreme Court on Monday brought the curtains down on an inter-continental custodial battle.

A bench headed by Justice JS Khehar ordered the authorities to make all the arrangements to send the girl to her mother in Leicestershrie, UK, after it accepted the woman’s plea that she was never married with the man who claimed to be her daughter’s father. Her counsel Pritpal Nijjar told the bench that the woman had a UK court decree in her favour. He challenged the Himachal Pradesh high court order that turned down his client’s plea and granted her only visitation rights. Nijjal said his client had a live-in relationship with an Indian man who fathered the girl. However, after an estranged relationship with the Polish woman, he allegedly kidnapped the child and brought her to Shimla. The HC had granted the child’s custody to the school.

“The handing over of custody to an institution, while ignoring the claim of a parent, especially the mother of the child, is not acceptable,” SC said.