Orissa high court upholds custody of minor with maternal grandparents

CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has upheld a Family Court order granting custody of a minor boy to his maternal grandparents, holding that the decision was in line with the settled principle that the welfare of the child is paramount.A single-judge bench of Justice Mruganka Sekhar Sahoo on March 30 dismissed an appeal filed in 2019 under Section 47(a) of the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890, challenging the September 6, 2018 order of the Family Court, Keonjhar.The appellants—the child’s father and paternal grandparents—had sought custody of the minor, born on December 23, 2012. The case stems from a tragic background: the child’s mother died under unnatural circumstances on August 4, 2013. In a subsequent 2014 trial, the Sessions Court in Keonjhar convicted the father and paternal grandparents in a dowry death case, sentencing them to life imprisonment. While the father remained in custody, the grandparents were on bail during the proceedings.Justice Sahoo noted that the Family Court, while deciding the custody dispute, examined provisions under Sections 6 and 13 of the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956 and undertook a comparative assessment of the parties’ financial and social circumstances. It noted that the maternal grandfather, a lecturer at Jashipur College aged about 51, and the maternal grandmother, a homemaker aged about 45, were in a stable position to care for the child, who in the meantime, has attained the age of 14 years and is going to be major after four years.“This Court does not find any error apparent in the order impugned. The conclusions have been arrived at after analyzing the evidence on record as well as considering the provisions of law also the law laid down by the Supreme Court of India regarding welfare of the child,” Justice Sahoo ruled upholding the findings of the Family Court.While disposing of the appeal Justice Sahoo observed: “The welfare of the child remains the paramount consideration.”The high court, however, granted liberty to the appellants to seek appropriate remedies for visitation and contact rights, observing that such pleas may be considered on their own merits in accordance with law.