Kerala High Court
Sheeja vs Shaji.S on 4 March, 2025
Author: Devan Ramachandran
Bench: Devan Ramachandran
2025:KER:17961
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE DEVAN RAMACHANDRAN
&
THE HONOURABLE MRS. JUSTICE M.B. SNEHALATHA
TUESDAY, THE 4TH DAY OF MARCH 2025 / 13TH PHALGUNA, 1946
OP (FC) NO. 89 OF 2025
ORDER DATED 21.08.2024 IN IA 1/2024 IN
OPGW NO.221 OF 2024, FAMILY COURT, NEYYATTINKARA
PETITIONER/RESPONDENT IN IA NO.1 OF 2024/
PETITIONER IN IA NOS.9/2024 AND 10/2024/
RESPONDENT IN OP(G&W)NO.221/2024:
SHEEJA, AGED 43 YEARS, D/O SULOCHANA BABY,
CHRISTU NIVAS, PERUMTHANNI, KANJIRAMKULAM.P.O,
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, PIN - 695524.
BY ADVS. R.T.PRADEEP
M.BINDUDAS
NIRANJAN T. PRADEEP
RESPONDENT/PETITIONER IN IA NO.1 OF 2024/
RESPONDENT IN IA NOS.9/2024 AND 10/2024/
PETITIONER IN OP(G&W)NO.221/2024:
SHAJI.S, SHANTI NIKETAN, PUTHENKADA,
THIRUPURAM P.O., THIRUVANANTHAPURAM,
PIN - 695525.
SRI M R SASI
THIS OP (FAMILY COURT) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION
ON 04.03.2025, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE
FOLLOWING:
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OP (FC) NO. 89 OF 2025
-2-
JUDGMENT
Devan Ramachandran, J.
The petitioner challenges Ext.P10 order of
the learned Family Court, Thiruvananthapuram,
which dismissed IA Nos.9/2024 and 10/2024 in OP
No.221/2024.
2. The above said Original Petition was
filed by the respondent herein, seeking
permanent custody of his minor children, in
which, initially, Ext.P4 order dated 21.08.2024,
was issued by the learned Court granting him
visitation rights over them every first and
third Saturday in the court premises, from 10
a.m. to 12.30 p.m.
3. The petitioner, thereupon, filed IA
No.9/2024 seeking modification of the above
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OP (FC) NO. 89 OF 2025
mentioned Ext.P4 order; and IA No.10/2024
seeking that certain documents be called for by
the Court from the Child Welfare Committee and
the Principal of a particular school. This was
done on the allegation that the respondent -
father was arrayed as an accused in a Crime
against the children, registered under the
provisions of the Protection of Children from
Sexual Offences Act, 2012 ('POCSO Act'), the
Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of
Children) Act, 2015 ('JJ Act') and the Indian
Penal Code ('IPC'). It is the case of the mother
that, once the father was so arrayed, the
interaction arranged by the Court through Ext.P4
becomes untenable; and that, in order to prove
her case, she is entitled to call for certain
documents, as we mentioned above, from the Child
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OP (FC) NO. 89 OF 2025
Welfare Committee and the school.
4. The learned Family Court considered the
applications on merit and dismissed them through
the impugned order, which is now under
challenge.
5. Sri.R.T.Pradeep - learned counsel for
the petitioner, conceded that the case
registered against the respondent has now been
referred; but asserted that his client intends
to file a protest complaint against the same. He
then argued that, though in such circumstances,
the interaction between the respondent and the
children would be possibly permissible in law,
it ought not have been allowed without the
learned Family Court having interacted with
them. He thus beseeched us to allow the children
to be present before this Court, so that we can
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OP (FC) NO. 89 OF 2025
talk to them and ascertain their minds.
6. We do not propose to accede to the
afore request of Sri.R.T.pradeep because, as
rightly argued by Sri.M.R.Sasi - learned counsel
for the respondent, the arrangement of
visitation as ordered by the learned Family
Court through Ext.P4 order as early as on
21.08.2024, has not been contested by either of
the parties. It is only, thereafter, on the
allegation that the father has been arrayed as
an accused in the above said Crime, that the
mother moved above said two applications - one
to modify the said order and the other to call
for certain documents.
7. The situation is certainly sordid, to
say the least, because the children are now
caught between their father and mother, who are
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OP (FC) NO. 89 OF 2025
not only fighting each other on matrimonial
issues; but with provisions of various other
statutes, like the POCSO Act, having been drawn
in.
8. However, as matters now stand, it is
without contest that the Crime registered
against the father under the 'POCSO Act', 'JJ
Act' and 'IPC' has been referred; and the mother
only says that she intends to file a protest
complaint in future.
9. We, therefore, cannot find the impugned
order to be in error because, it effectively
restores the parties to the position of Ext.P4
order - issued more than eight months ago -
against which no appeal or challenge has been
admittedly impelled by any of the parties.
10. The further finding of the learned
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OP (FC) NO. 89 OF 2025
Family Court in the impugned order, that calling
of the documents can be resorted to by the
parties, if required in future, also do not
require to be interdicted.
In the afore circumstances, this Original
Petition is dismissed.
Sd/-
DEVAN RAMACHANDRAN
JUDGE
Sd/-
M.B.SNEHALATHA
akv JUDGE
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OP (FC) NO. 89 OF 2025
APPENDIX OF OP (FC) 89/2025
PETITIONER EXHIBITS
EXHIBIT P1 TRUE COPY OF ORIGINAL PETITION NIL
DATED IN O.P (GW) NO. 221/2024 BEFORE
FAMILY COURT NEYYATTINKKARA
EXHIBIT P2 TRUE COPY OF I.A. NO.1/2024 IN O.P.
(G&W) NO.221/2024 BEFORE FAMILY COURT,
NEYYATTINKARA DATED 1.3.2024
EXHIBIT P3 TRUE COPY OF OBJECTION DATED 20.4.2024
TO I.A. NO.1/2024 BY PETITIONER ON THE
FILE OF FAMILY COURT, NEYYATTINKARA
EXHIBIT P4 TRUE COPY OF ORDER DATED 21.8.2024 IN
I.A. NO.1/2024 IN O.P. (G&W)
NO.221/2024 BY FAMILY COURT,
NEYYATTINKARA
EXHIBIT P7 TRUE COPY OF I.A. NO.9/2024 SEEKING TO
MODIFY EXHIBIT-P4 ORDER IN O.P. (G&W)
NO.221/2024 BY PETITIONER BEFORE THE
FAMILY COURT, NEYYATTINKARA DATED
14.10.2024
EXHIBIT P8 TRUE COPY OF I.A. NO.10/2024 SEEKING
DIRECTION TO PRODUCE THE RECORDS
PERTAINING TO THE SEXUAL HARASSMENT OF
THE ELDER SON OF PETITIONER FROM
CHAIRMAN OF CHILD WELFARE COMMITTEE,
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM AND PRINCIPAL OF
ST. CHRISOSTOM'S GHSS, NELLIMOODU
DATED 25.10.2024 ON THE FILE OF FAMILY
COURT, NEYYATTINKARA
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OP (FC) NO. 89 OF 2025
EXHIBIT P9 TRUE COPY OF OBJECTION DATED
29.10.2024 BY RESPONDENT TO I.A.
NO.9/2024 ON THE FILE OF FAMILY COURT,
NEYYATTINKARA
EXHIBIT P10 TRUE COPY OF COMMON ORDER DATED
28.10.2024 IN I.A. NO.9/2024 AND
10/2024 IN O.P. (G&W) NO.221/2024 BY
FAMILY COURT, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
HAVING CHARGE OF FAMILY COURT,
NEYYATTINKARA
