Unsupportive father can't claim custody of girl children, says Karnataka High Court

A father who failed to create a congenial atmosphere for the girl child cannot be heard to contend that he has a right to claim custody, the high court has observed.

Dismissing the petition filed by the father of a nine-year-old girl who sought equal custody on par with his wife, Justice M Nagaprasanna made the above observations.

The Christian-Muslim couple, both residents of Bengaluru, got married in 2005. The girl was born in 2014 and due to differences, the woman has been living separately with the child since 2018. The proceedings initiated by the husband seeking custody of the child had once reached the apex court.

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The mother first challenged the family court’s order granting interim custody of the child to the father during the summer vacation in 2022. She contended that her husband had failed to take proper care of their daughter and had even left the child in the hands of a stranger who used to take photographs/videos of the child.

The high court reversed the family court's order. The husband unsuccessfully challenged this order in the apex court.

Though the husband again approached the family court for equal custody rights on par with his wife, the court only allowed visitation rights for three days during vacation, between 1 pm and 5 pm, at the child visitation room of the family court in Bengaluru. This time, the husband again approached the high court, and the mother reiterated that the child fears staying with the father.

Justice Nagaprasanna noted that for the last five years, the husband and wife have been in a constant squabble and the minor girl child has been watching her parents, right from the tender age of four. The court refused to interfere with the order passed by the family court.

"The girl child, in her best interest, prefers to be with her mother and psychologically it is presumed that the bond between the child and mother is the finest. In cases of this nature, where the parents are wrangling on their egos, the wound is inflicted on the child," the court said.