Mother’s legal right on kids can’t override their welfare, wishes: HC

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana high court has ruled that even as a mother is the natural guardian of children and should be usually handed over the custody of daughters, her legal right can’t override her offspring’s welfare and wishes.

The bench of justices Rajan Gupta and Manjari Nehru Kaul dismissed the guardianship plea of a Hisar woman, who the court found had left home 10 years ago, while her two daughters were living ‘happily’ with their father.

The woman was granted occasional visits to her daughters by a family court in Hisar.

“They are being well looked after and provided good education. The daughters who are old enough to make an intelligent preference have themselves expressed their reluctance to go and stay with the appellant-mother.

The legal right of the mother thus cannot be allowed to override the welfare and the wishes of the daughters (sic),” the bench said. The family court of Hisar had dismissed plea of woman seeking custody in December 2015 of her two minor daughters aged 12 and 13.

The couple got married in January 2005 and the woman left her daughters and husband behind in 2010 and started living with her parents. Subsequently, she filed plea seeking custody of the girls.

The court was told that the girls are residing in Hisar and are studying in good schools of the city, whereas the mother is residing in a village in Bhiwani district.

“It leaves no manner of doubt that the daughters of the parties are happily living with their father and their paternal grandmother.

They are being well looked after and provided good education as well. The daughters who are old enough to make an intelligent preference have themselves expressed their reluctance to go and stay with the appellant-mother (sic),” the court observed.

The woman in her petition had stated after she gave birth to two daughters, her husband and his family subjected her to beatings and hatched a conspiracy to oust her from matrimonial home.

She had also alleged the daughters were being neglected by her ‘drunkard’ husband who was subjecting them to beatings and cruelty. Therefore, she being mother had the legal right to get custody of her daughters, she had argued.

THE COURT DISMISSED THE GUARDIANSHIP PLEA OF A HISAR WOMAN, WHO HAD LEFT HOME 10 YEARS AGO, WHILE HER DAUGHTERS WERE LIVING ‘HAPPILY’ WITH THEIR FATHER