Man fled to London with his son, HC asks Interpol to issue notice

Observing that a Londonbased man has 'prima facie' breached the orders of the family court, the Bombay High Court directed the Interpol to issue a Red Corner Notice (RCN) against him.

This comes after the man failed to hand over the custody of his minor son to his estranged wife, as directed by the family court.

A single-judge bench presided by Justice Rajesh Ketkar has also directed the international organisation (Interpol) to issue a Yellow Corner Notice (YCN) to bring back the minor child to Mumbai.

A RCN is an international arrest warrant that seeks location and arrest of a person for his/her extradition. While, a YCN is another notice that helps locate missing persons, often minors.

This comes in response to the petition filed by Dipti Kardile, who had tied the knots with Rishikesh Kardile in 2011. The couple decided to part their ways in 2014 and accordingly, Dipti petitioned the family court seeking dissolution of her marriage.

After considering the case on merits, the family court in Thane had ruled in Dipti's favour and had asked her husband Rishikesh to hand over the child's custody to her. The family court had also asked Rishikesh to pay a total of Rs 20,000 per month.

In her plea, she alleged that her husband fled away with her child to London without paying any amount. She has also contended that despite the breach of the judgment passed by the family court, several opportunities were given to him by the HC to bring back the child, however he failed to respond to all the opportunities.

Interestingly, Rishikesh who is said to be in London, has contended that Dipti can execute the family court's ruling in the courts at London under the provisions of Foreign Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act, 1933.

After hearing the submissions advanced, Justice Ketkar said, "I am satisfied that the respondent (Rishikesh) is prima facie in contempt of the orders of the family court. Accordingly, the Interpol authorities are directed to take all possible steps to issue a RCN against Rishikesh. The authorities are also directed to issue a YCN for the child."

The matter would be next heard on May 2.