Court says grandparents should also share custody of children caught up in marital disputes

Nainital:

Grandparents should also share custody of children caught up in marital disputes, the Uttarakhand High Court said and directed family courts to follow the Law Commission’s recommendations in such cases.

In a recent order on a PIL filed by advocate Shruti Joshi, a division bench of judges Ritu Bahri and Rakesh Thapliyal said that in matrimonial dispute cases too, custody of the child should be shared between both parents so that the emotional growth of the child can be will not be affected.

It has been observed that the emotional needs and appropriate emotional growth of the children are never examined while dealing with parental disputes and by the time the proceedings reach the High Court, the children have already suffered a great deal of mental anguish.

Mr. Joshi’s PIL seeks to address the mental agony suffered by these children during the legal proceedings of the matrimonial dispute.

The Law Commission has recommended that the Hindu Minorities and Guardianship Act, 1956, be amended to make it more equitable to the children of parents involved in marital disputes.

Since the amendment process of the Act is lengthy, the High Court directed that the family courts should mandatorily follow all the recommendations made by the Commission.

The high court also asked the family courts to follow the letter issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice dated January 11, 2024, in appointing counselors in such cases and the counselors should be child psychologists so that their reports are scientific and can be Considered evidence of granting custody of the child.

The High Court held that the needs of the child were paramount and therefore the court should be empowered to obtain an independent psychological assessment of the child in order to identify various relevant issues in mediation cases.

Professional assistance may be needed as neither the court nor the mediator may be qualified in child psychology, the report adds.

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