Girl child not a chattel, says SC

“A girl child is not a chattel,” the Supreme Court observed on Friday, while lamenting that the Madras High Court had treated a four-year-old as a “shuttlecock” in a custody battle between her parents.

“We are sorry for the way the high court handled this. She is treated like a shuttlecock. She has to be with her mother for four days and father for three days. The agony of the child should not be put in this manner by the high court. We are not satisfied with this arrangement. This has to be corrected,” a bench comprising Chief Justice R M Lodha and Justices Kurian Joseph and R F Nariman said.

“The arrangement of the high court is something which is shocking the conscience of this court,” the bench said.

The bench was hearing the battle for the custody of the daughter, whose mother alleged that she was snatched from her by her estranged husband.

From the outset, the bench expressed its displeasure over the arrangement made by the high court, which allowed the girl child to stay out of her mother’s custody.