Man loses custody of kids living in France

In the instant case, the couple were orphans who were given in adoption at Puducherry to Belgium parents and French parents in 1966 and 1969 respectively. They met in 1995 and got married in France. Out of wedlock they had three children and were residing in Belgium. But on tracing their roots, they travelled to Puducherry in 2012 with an intent to settle down there permanently in Auroville.

But in May 2013, they decided to go on a vacation to Belgium and France and were scheduled to return on June 11, 2013. However, the mother refused to move to India and initiated steps for divorce in a court in Paris. Since they could not arrive at conciliation, the court granted custody of the children to the mother in 2014 and permitted him to have joint parental authority. Even, the Court of Cassation, the highest court of appeal in France, citing jurisdiction, refused to rule in his favour and instead remanded the matter back to Paris Court in 2017 to look into the alleged suppression of facts.

Notwithstanding this, the father moved the Madras HC in 2019 contending since they had shifted from Belgium to settle down permanently in India and the trip to Europe in May 2013 was a holiday, the permanent residence of the children as contemplated under Section 9 of the Guardians and Wards Act, would only be India and not France.

However, Justice PT Asha on observing that no doubt the parties had shifted to India with the intention to make it their home, said: “On the date of the filing of this petition the minors have been continuously residing at France for over six years and their stay in France is not a temporary stay since the children are residing there and have enrolled in the schools there since 2013.”