Kerala High Court
Syama Sr vs Vinod Gopinathan on 9 October, 2025
Author: Devan Ramachandran
Bench: Devan Ramachandran
2025:KER:74646
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE DEVAN RAMACHANDRAN
&
THE HONOURABLE MRS. JUSTICE M.B. SNEHALATHA
THURSDAY, THE 9TH DAY OF OCTOBER 2025 / 17TH ASWINA, 1947
MAT.APPEAL NO. 877 OF 2025
AGAINST THE ORDER DATED 21.08.2025 IN IA 11/2025
IN OPGW NO.726 OF 2024 OF FAMILY COURT,THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
APPELLANT/COUNTER PETITIONER/ORIGINAL RESPONDENT:
SYAMA SR, AGED 41 YEARS
"MADHAVAM", 1/15 B, KUNDAMANBHAGAM,
VILAPPIL, PEYAD P.O,
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM PIN- 695573.
REPRESENTED THROUGH HER POWER OF ATTORNEY
HOLDER SOUMYA U, AGED 31 YEARS,
D/O JAYAKUMAR
RESIDING AT TC 64/2163,
PANDIMUTTATHU CHARUVIL VEEDU,
THIRUVALLOM P.O.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, PIN - 695027.
BY ADVS.
SRI.ARUN BABU
SHRI.ANEESHRAJ R.
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Mat.Appeal No.877/2025 & OP(FC)No.557/2025
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RESPONDENT/RESPONDENT/ORIGINAL PETITIONER:
VINOD GOPINATHAN
S/O. K.GOPINATHAN,
SREEKRISHNA VILASAM, 54/1208,
NEMOM,THIRUVANANTHAPURAM.,
PIN - 695020.
BY ADV SRI.NAVEEN RADHAKRISHNAN
THIS MATRIMONIAL APPEAL HAVING COME UP FOR
ADMISSION ON 09.10.2025, ALONG WITH OP (FC).557/2025, THE
COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
2025:KER:74646
Mat.Appeal No.877/2025 & OP(FC)No.557/2025
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE DEVAN RAMACHANDRAN
&
THE HONOURABLE MRS. JUSTICE M.B. SNEHALATHA
THURSDAY, THE 9TH DAY OF OCTOBER 2025 / 17TH ASWINA, 1947
OP (FC) NO. 557 OF 2025
AGAINST THE ORDER DATED 01.09.2025 IN IA 12/2025 IN
OPGW NO.726 OF 2024 OF FAMILY COURT,THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
PETITIONER/PETITIONER/ORIGINAL RESPONDENT:
SYAMA SR, AGED 41 YEARS
MADHAVAM", 1/15 B, KUNDAMANBHAGAM, VILAPPIL,
PEYAD P.O, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM PIN- 695573.
REPRESENTED THROUGH HER POWER OF ATTORNEY
HOLDER SOUMYA U, AGED 31 YEARS,
D/O JAYAKUMAR RESIDING AT TC 64/2163,
PANDIMUTTATHU CHARUVIL VEEDU, THIRUVALLOM P.O.,
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, PIN - 695027.
BY ADVS.
SRI.ARUN BABU
SHRI.ANEESHRAJ R.
SRI.A.MOHAMMED SAVAD
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Mat.Appeal No.877/2025 & OP(FC)No.557/2025
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RESPONDENT/RESPONDENT/ORIGINAL PETITIONER:
VINOD GOPINATHAN
S/O. K.GOPINATHAN SREEKRISHNA VILASAM,
54/1208, NEMOM,THIRUVANANTHAPURAM,
PIN - 695020.
BY ADV SRI.NAVEEN RADHAKRISHNAN
THIS OP (FAMILY COURT) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION
ON 09.10.2025, ALONG WITH Mat.Appeal.877/2025, THE COURT
ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
2025:KER:74646
Mat.Appeal No.877/2025 & OP(FC)No.557/2025
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JUDGMENT
[Mat.Appeal No.877/2025, OP(FC)No.557/2025]
Devan Ramachandran, J.
We are considering this Appeal and
Original Petition together, since the underlying
factual scenario is the same and the parties are
common.
2. The respondent in these cases filed OP
No.726/2024 before the learned Family Court,
Thiruvananthapuram, seeking permanent custody of
his son, asserting that his elder daughter is
already with him.
3. On the allegation that the appellant is
not complying with the orders to produce the
child before the Court, the respondent filed IA
No.11/2025, seeking to prosecute her for
violating the order of the Court in IA
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Mat.Appeal No.877/2025 & OP(FC)No.557/2025
No.8/2025; while, the latter filed IA
No.12/2025, seeking that the order in IA
No.8/2025 be modified.
4. The order of the learned Family Court
in IA No.11/2025 is under challenge before us in
Mat.Appeal No.877/2025; while, the order of the
learned Family Court, dismissing IA No.12/2025 -
seeking modification of the order in IA
No.8/2025 - has been challenged in
OP(FC)No.557/2025.
5. The specific assertion of Sri.Arun Babu
- learned counsel for the appellant/petitioner
in both these cases, is that his client had
married again, after obtaining divorce from the
respondent and is now living in Sharjah, United
Arab Emirates (UAE). He explained that the
appellant/petitioner was in India in January -
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February of this year and then returned back to
join her husband in Sharjah; consequently
incapacitating her from travelling again on
short notice. The learned counsel added that the
airfare during the period when the learned
Family Court asked his client to produce the
child before it was so prohibitively expensive,
that she could not afford it since, she is
unemployed and is living under the care of her
second husband; but that this was not considered
by the Court with empathy, leading it to issue
the impugned orders, thus exposing her to
prosecution and penalties under the provisions
of Section 45(1) of the Guardian and Wards Act,
1890 ('Act' for short). He pointed out that, as
per the directions of the learned Family Court,
his client was to present herself before it with
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Mat.Appeal No.877/2025 & OP(FC)No.557/2025
her son on 10.09.2025, failing which she would
be mulcted with per diem costs. He, therefore,
prayed that the Appeal and the Original Petition
be allowed, offering that his client will appear
before the Trial Court with the child in the
first week of January, 2026.
6. In response, however, Sri.Naveen
Radhakrishnan - learned counsel for the
respondent, submitted that the afore
explanations are nothing but self-serving, and
that it is evident that the appellant/petitioner
is obdurately refusing to either appear before
the Court or to produce the child. He submitted
that his client, therefore, had no other option,
but to have sought her prosecution, which has
now been allowed.
7. Before we move forward, we record that
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Mat.Appeal No.877/2025 & OP(FC)No.557/2025
we had interacted with the appellant/petitioner
and her son, through online platform, yesterday
(08.10.2025).
8. The child was very amiable, but he
appeared to have certain misconceptions about
his father. This, unfortunately, will not be
possible to be resolved by us, while interacting
with him through the online platform. Therefore,
the appellant/petitioner and her child will
certainly have to appear before the Trial Court;
but the question is should they be forced to do
so immediately, or can they be given liberty to
do so when they are expected to come to Kerala
again, which she said yesterday would be towards
the end of December, 2025.
9. One thing that caught our mind during
the interaction was that the child appears to be
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Mat.Appeal No.877/2025 & OP(FC)No.557/2025
anxious to see his elder sister, and he was
complaining that they are not being allowed to
live together because of the matrimonial strife
between their parents.
10. We, therefore, requested the
respondent to appear before us today with his
daughter, so that we could arrange a meeting
between all the parties in a combined physical-
online module. However, Sri.Naveen Radhakrishnan
submitted that his client is in Bangalore and is
not in a position to appear before this Court.
11. Coming back to the facts of the case,
the learned Family Court has recorded in its
impugned orders that the appellant/petitioner
has refused to produce her child and therefore,
that she is liable under the provisions of
Section 45(1) of the 'Act'. The learned Court
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found that the appellant/petitioner had filed
objections on the afore recorded lines to IA
No.8/2025; but that it had been dismissed
considering all contentions, thus directing her
to produce the child.
12. We have no doubt that the
appellant/petitioner and the child must submit
themselves to the jurisdiction of the Trial
Court as and when required. However, it also
ought to have been kept in mind by the learned
Court that she is a lady living in a foreign
country under the care of her present husband;
and perhaps there is something in what she is
saying, including on the finances that she
requires for her travel.
13. Indubitably, there can only be two
options now, namely that either the respondent
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Mat.Appeal No.877/2025 & OP(FC)No.557/2025
agrees to pay the expenses for the up and down
travel of the appellant/petitioner with her
child; or that he waits until they are stated to
be here in the last week of December, 2025.
14. We had, in fact, thought of the
interaction with the respondent also for this
purpose; but since he is not available, we are
not in a position to take his view.
15. In fact, Sri.Naveen Radhakrishnan
submitted that his client is willing to wait
until January, 2026, for production of the
child.
16. In the afore circumstances, we cannot
find the insistence of the learned Family Court,
that the appellant/petitioner should appear with
her child on 10.09.2025, to be fair,
particularly taking into account her situation
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as a single mother.
Resultantly, we allow this Appeal and the
Original Petition and set aside the impugned
orders; with a consequential direction to the
appellant/petitioner to mark appearance before
the learned Family Court, along with her child,
on the reopening day of the learned Family
Courts in January, 2026, without fail. Once this
is done, the learned Family Court will proceed
to take necessary decisions in the matter as per
law, after affording necessary opportunities to
both sides.
Sd/- DEVAN RAMACHANDRAN
JUDGE
Sd/- M.B.SNEHALATHA
akv JUDGE
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Mat.Appeal No.877/2025 & OP(FC)No.557/2025
APPENDIX OF MAT.APPEAL 877/2025
PETITIONER ANNEXURES
ANNEXURE A1 THE TRUE COPY OF THE NO OBJECTION
LETTER DATED 07/04/2023 EXECUTED BY
THE RESPONDENT FOR OBTAINING A
RESIDENCE VISA OF MASTER VIHAN AT UAE
ANNEXURE A2 THE TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER DATED
12/12/2024 IN IA 1/2024 IN OP(GW)
726/2024 PENDING /BEFORE THE FAMILY
COURT THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
ANNEXURE A3 THE TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER DATED
16/07/2025 IN IA 8/2025 IN OP(GW)
726/2024 PENDING BEFORE THE FAMILY
COURT THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
ANNEXURE A4 THE TRUE COPY OF THE PETITION DATED
02/08/2025 IN IA 12/2025 IN OP (GW)
726/2024 PENDING BEFORE THE FAMILY
COURT THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
ANNEXURE A5 THE TRUE COPY OF IA 11/2025, DATED
01/08/2025 IN OP(GW) 726/2024 PENDING
BEFORE THE FAMILY COURT
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
ANNEXURE A6 THE TRUE COPY OF THE OBJECTION DATED
11/08/2025 FILED BY THE PETITIONER IN
OP(GW) 726/2024 PENDING BEFORE THE
FAMILY COURT THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
ANNEXURE A7 THE TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER DATED 01/09
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/2025 IN IA 12/2025 IN OP(GW) 726/2024
PENDING BEFORE THE FAMILY COURT
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
ANNEXURE A8 THE CERTIFIED COPY OF THE ORDER DATED
21/08/2025 IN IA 11/2025 IN OP(GW)
726/2024 PENDING BEFORE THE FAMILY
COURT THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
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APPENDIX OF OP (FC) 557/2025
PETITIONER EXHIBITS
EXHIBIT P1 THE TRUE COPY OF THE DECREE DATED
25/06/2022 OF THE HON'BLE FAMILY
COURT, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, IN OP(SMA)
EXHIBIT P2 THE TRUE COPY OF THE NO OBJECTION
LETTER DATED 07/04/2023 EXECUTED BY
THE RESPONDENT FOR OBTAINING A
RESIDENCE VISA OF MASTER VIHAN AT THE
UAE
EXHIBIT P3 TRUE COPY OF THE LETTER DATED
05/09/2024 ISSUED BY DISTRICT CHILD
PROTECTION OFFICER
EXHIBIT P4 THE TRUE COPY OF THE ORIGINAL PETITION
DATED 30/03/2024 IN OP(GW) 726/2024
PENDING BEFORE THE FAMILY COURT
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
EXHIBIT P5 THE TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER DATED
12/12/2024 IN IA 1/2024 IN OP(GW)
726/2024 PENDING /BEFORE THE FAMILY
COURT THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
EXHIBIT P6 THE TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER IN IA
3/2025 DATED 01/01/2025 IN OP(GW)
726/2024 PENDING BEFORE THE FAMILY
COURT, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
EXHIBIT P7 THE TRUE COPY OF THE IA 8/2025 DATED
24/05/2025 IN OP(GW) 726/2024 PENDING
BEFORE THE FAMILY COURT
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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
EXHIBIT P8 . THE TRUE COPY OF THE OBJECTION FILED
BY THE PETITIONER TO THE IA 8/2025
DATED NIL IN OP(GW) 726/2024 PENDING
BEFORE THE FAMILY COURT
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
EXHIBIT P9 THE TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER DATED
16/07/2025 IN IA 8/2025 IN OP(GW)
726/2024 PENDING BEFORE THE FAMILY
COURT, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
EXHIBIT P10 THE TRUE COPY OF THE PETITION DATED
02/08/2025, .IN IA 12/2025 IN OP(GW)
726/2024 PENDING BEFORE THE FAMILY
COURT THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
EXHIBIT P11 THE TRUE COPY OF THE OBJECTION DATED
11/08/2025 FILED BY THE RESPONDENT TO
EXHIBIT P12 THE TRUE COPY OF IA 11/2025, DATED
01/08/2025 IN OP(GW) 726/2024 PENDING
BEFORE THE FAMILY COURT
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
EXHIBIT P13 THE TRUE COPY OF THE OBJECTION DATED
11/08/2025 FILED BY THE PETITIONER IN
OP(GW) 726/2024 PENDING BEFORE THE
FAMILY COURT THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
EXHIBIT P14 THE TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER DATED
21/08/2025 IN IA 11/2025 IN OP(GW)
726/2024 PENDING BEFORE THE FAMILY
COURT THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
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EXHIBIT P15 THE TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER DATED 01/09
/2025 IN IA 12/2025 IN OP(GW) 726/2024
PENDING BEFORE THE FAMILY COURT
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
EXHIBIT P16 THE TRUE COPY OF THE SANJAYANAM LETTER
OF THE DEMISE OF THE RESPONDENT'S
FATHER, GOPINATHAN
EXHIBIT P17 THE TRUE COPY OF THE TIME TABLE OF THE
TERM EXAMINATION WITH RESPECT TO THE
SON OF THE PETITIONER WHO IS STUDYING
IN 5TH GRADE
EXHIBIT P18 THE TRUE COPY OF THE POWER OF ATTORNEY
EXECUTED BY THE PETITIONER, WHICH WAS
SUBMITTED BEFORE THE FAMILY COURT IN
OP(GW) 726/20204 OF THE FAMILY COURT
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
