HC asks woman to bring son from abroad so that he can meet father, sibilings

Children are treated like chattel or movable property in matrimonial disputes the Bombay High Court said on Tuesday while directing a woman to come to India from Thailand with her 15yearold son so that he can meet his father and siblingsSuch disputes constitute the most bitterly fought adversarial litigation in our country said a division bench of Justices R D Dhanuka and Gauri Godse adding that a childs welfare is more important than the parents rights over her or himThe court was hearing a petition filed by a man seeking to meet his 15yearold son who lives with his mother in ThailandThe boy has suffered a setback because of the bitterly fought case between his estranged parents and he is keen to meet his father the court observedldquoIn our country matrimonial disputes constitute the most bitterly fought adversarial litigation A stage comes when warring couples stop seeing reason The children are treated as chattelrdquo it saidldquoChildren cannot be treated as chattel or property where the parents would have absolute rights over the destiny and life of their children The paramount consideration is the welfare of the child and not the legal rights of the parentsrdquo the judges addedThe estranged couples elder children a son and daughter both of them major stay with their fatherAlso read Maha CM fires veiled barb at Uddhav over his whereabouts when Babri masjid was demolishedThe man claimed that a family court in September 2020 directed his wife to provide him the boys elder siblings and the grandparents free access to the boy but she did not complyThe HC should direct the woman to bring the son to India during summer holidays the plea saidThe womans lawyer told the HC that she was willing to come to India with her son but necessary orders should be passed to ensure that she can safely return to Thailand with her son at the end of vacationThe court noted that the boy appeared to be very clear in his thoughts and his prospects and hence is required to be treated as an individual and it was necessary to respect his thoughtsIt was necessary to strike a balance between the parents requirements and welfare of the child the HC said noting that if due consideration was not given to the boys views it could be detrimental to his futureFor the growth of a child it is necessary that a child has the company of both his parents as well as his siblingsrdquo the court said adding both the parents should express some regret and adopt corrective measuresThe bench directed the woman to visit India with her son so that he can meet his father and elder siblingsThe father shall not initiate any complaint or trigger any action for the arrestdetention of the woman and their son while they are in India it saidThe high court also directed that the concerned state and central agencies shall ensure that no hurdle is created in their return to Thailand afterwardsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever