Ranchi: The Jharkhand High Court has passed an important order handing over the interim custody of a nearly four-and-a-half-year-old girl to her mother. The court observed that in matters concerning the custody of minor children, the welfare and best interests of the child must remain paramount over the individual rights of the parents.
The order was passed by a division bench comprising Justice S.N. Prasad and Justice Sanjay Prasad while hearing a petition filed by P Kumari (name changed).
Family Court Order Set Aside
The High Court set aside the order passed by the Hazaribagh Family Court on November 27, 2025, which had rejected the mother's plea for interim custody and granted her only visitation rights.
The High Court has now granted interim custody of the child to the mother while allowing the father, C Kumar (name changed), to meet the child on weekends.
Child Was Born Through IVF
According to the case, both parties are working as assistant professors at a university. They had entered into their second marriage on May 16, 2017, and their daughter was born through IVF on March 8, 2022.
The mother alleged that when the child was around two years and three months old, the father took her into his custody and prevented her from meeting the child.
The father, on the other hand, argued that the child had been living with him and her grandparents in Hazaribagh since January 2023 and was studying at a reputed school there.
Key Observations of the High Court
Violation of legal provisions: The court observed that under Section 12 of the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890, the Family Court was required to take a clear decision on interim custody. Instead, it dealt only with visitation rights.
Custody of children below five: Referring to Section 6(a) of the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956, the High Court noted that custody of a child below five years of age should ordinarily remain with the mother.
Family Court order found erroneous: The High Court held that the Family Court's decision was perverse and contrary to law, as it had failed to properly assess the facts and applicable statutory provisions.
The High Court reiterated that the welfare and best interests of the child are the primary consideration in custody matters, above the competing personal rights of the parents.
