Now, in the event of a mother entering a new relationship without securing a divorce from her previous one, she cannot be denied custody of her minor child, held Allahabad High Court (HC).
This decision was given by the court disposing off a habeas corpus filed last month by one Ram Kumar Gupta, who stated that due to his wife’s second marriage, she has lost custody over their child. Gupta also stated that the minor will be unsafe in a strangers home as opposed to his own father’s.
However, the court ruled that although the mother entering a new relationship without getting a divorce from the previous one may be something the society frowns upon, the court does not consider it so immoral that it will deprave the mother of her child’s presence.
“Depriving the minor of his mother’s company might have an adverse impact on his overall development,” the court added.
The court ruled this after Gupta’s wife Sanyogita stated that her husband had treated her with cruelty and hence she walked away from their marriage.
The Allahabad HC interacted with the mother and opined that the minor is well adapted to the mother’s new family.
However, the court granted visitation rights to Gupta, saying the rights of the minor to his father have to be ensured at all costs.
