Witnessing love: HC grants custody of 2 minor kids to mother

CHENNAI: In an incident, which was nothing but like the climax scene of actor Vikram’s ‘Deivathirumagal’ movie, a mother and her two minor girl children exchanged overwhelming love and affection inside a courtroom of Madras High Court since they met after several years.

Noting the fondness between the mother and two girl children, the bench comprising Justice SM Subramaniam and Justice J Sathya Narayana Prasad passed orders allowing the children who were under the custody of their father’s sister to go with their mother.

The judges passed such an order on disposing of an original side appeal by woman police challenging the order of a family court denying custody of her two children. The petitioner and the respondent man got married in 2002 and got divorced in 2018.

“The custody of two minor children is handed over to the appellant/mother with immediate effect. The appellant and the respondent and the two minor children are present before this court. As we have ascertained the willingness of the minor children, the appellant is directed to take the minor children along with her from this court itself, ” Justice Subramaniam who wrote the judgement held.

The court also expressed its dissatisfaction with original petition (OP) courts over the delay in passing orders in the child custody matters. “The OP filed in the year 2016 was decided in the year 2022, after a lapse of 6 years. In custody petitions, if the minor children are made to suffer for 6 years and if these petitions are prolonged for another 2 years, by which time the minors would attain a majority, there is no point in deciding such original petitions under the provisions of Guardians and Wards Act. The custody of the minor children should be decided as expeditiously as possible by the courts, ” the judge noted.

The judge passed these directions after the two children aged 16 and 10 informed the court that their father and his sister had beaten them and they want to go with their mother.

“When the minor children were asked to go to their mother inside the court hall, we could see the happiness and the smile on their faces and also the affection shown by them towards their mother even inside the court hall. Thus, this court is convinced that the minor children are interested to live with their mother, ” Justice Subramaniam said in the order and directed the children’s father to hand over all the documents and certificates related to the children to their mother.

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