The Supreme Court said family courts should grant visitation rights
in such a manner that a child is not deprived of the love and care of
either parent.
A Bench led by Justice Deepak Gupta said the
interest of the child should be kept foremost in custody battles between
separated parents. “A child has the right to affection of both his
parents,” Justice Gupta noted in a two-page order.
The order is based on a plea by a man for custody of his child, who is with the wife.
The court declined to interfere with the family court’s order granting the custody of the child to the mother.
The Bench, however, gave the man liberty to approach the family court for enhancement of his visitation rights.
“We
direct the family court to ensure that visitation rights are fixed in
such a manner that the child gets to know and love his father. A child
has a right to the affection of both his parents and the family court
shall ensure that visitation rights are granted in such a manner,”
Justice Gupta wrote.
He said the family court should also make suitable arrangements during vacations, keeping the interest of the child foremost.
On
July 22, the Supreme Court had, in a different case, agreed to examine
provisions in family laws which allow exclusive custody of children to just one parent after, probably, an ugly marital separation.
The
petition filed by Sulochana Rani has sought a reform in the family laws
and raised several concerns regarding why children cannot enjoy the
benefits of shared parenting. The custody and guardianship of a child
with just one separated parent, while giving the other mere visitation
rights over the child, is a violation of the fundamental right of a
child to enjoy the love and care of both parents.
" The legal provisions which currently exist as per various personal
laws are in the nature of entrusting the custody of children exclusively
to one of the parents in case of separation. The statutes create a
strong presumption in favour of exclusive custody. This presumption
severely affects the fundamental rights of the spouse who has been
denied the custody rights and the fundamental rights of the child who
will be deprived of care and love of both parents. This scheme of
statutes requires reformation,” Ms. Rani had contended in her petition.
Credit : The Hindu Legal Correspondent
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