Telangana High Court
Thota Papeshwar vs Gudem Purushotham on 12 March, 2025
Author: P. Sree Sudha
Bench: T.Vinod Kumar, P.Sree Sudha
THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE T. VINOD KUMAR
And
THE HON'BLE SMT. JUSTICE P. SREE SUDHA
C.M.A. No.597 of 2024
JUDGMENT:
(Per the Hon'ble Smt. Justice P. Sree Sudha)
This appeal is filed against the order dated
22.01.2024 passed by the Principal District Judge,
Nizamabad, allowing I.A.No.1047 of 2022 in GWOP.No.5 of
2022 filed to reject GWOP for non-disclosure of cause of
action and also on the aspect of barred by law.
2. Heard learned counsel for both the parties.
3. Facts of the case are that GWOP.No.5 of 2022 is filed
by the maternal grandparents of the children, who are aged
about 6 and 4 years, against the father of the children on
13.12.2021. Initially, it was stated in the said GWOP that
the mother of the children was missing from 24.09.2020
and therefore, a case in Crime No.359 of 2020 was
registered under woman missing and later her dead body
was found on 30.09.2020. It was further stated that the
respondent herein/father of the children is working as
Software Engineer at Hyderabad, but the children are
residing at Ankapur Village of Armoor Mandal and the
respondent used to visit them once in a week and that he
is ready to perform another marriage, as such, they filed
GWOP for custody of the minor children. The respondent
filed an application vide I.A.No.1047 of 2022 for rejection of
GWOP under Order VII Rule 11(a) and (d) C.P.C., on the
ground that the children are residing with him at
Hyderabad and he joined them in Silver Oaks International
School and to that effect he filed concerned school records
and that when the children are residing at Hyderabad,
GWOP is not maintainable and the maternal grandparents
have no jurisdiction to file the same at Nizamabad. The
Court below allowed the said I.A.No.1047 of 2022 by order
dated 22.01.2024. Aggrieved by the said order, the present
civil miscellaneous appeal is filed.
4. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that after
the death of the daughter of the petitioners, the respondent
has not allowed them to see the children. Therefore, they
filed GWOP on the apprehension that after performing
another marriage, the respondent may not take care of the
children properly.
5. Learned counsel for the respondent submits that
after the death of the wife of the respondent, the children
are residing with the respondent and the respondent is
taking care of them by joining them in premier school and
to that effect he filed the school record.
6. Having considering the rival submissions made by
both the learned counsel for the parties and a perusal of
the material available on record, it appears that the
grandparents of the children themselves have stated in
GWOP that the children are residing with the respondent
at Hyderabad after the death of their mother and the
respondent is not allowing them to see them. The record
further reveals that since the respondent, who is the
natural father, is working at Hyderabad, he joined the
children in Silver Oaks International School and is taking
care of them. It is not the case of the maternal
grandparents of the children that the respondent is not
taking care of the children properly. In guardian OPs
paramount consideration for the Court is welfare of minor
children.
7. Maternal grandparents/petitioners stated that
children are residing in Ankapur Village of Nizamabad
District and filed GWOP at Nizamabad. The
respondent/father stated that they are residing with him at
Hyderabad and filed proof. GWOP is to be filed where
children are ordinarily residing as on the date of filing of
OP. After the demise of their mother in 2020, minor
children are residing with their father, who is natural
guardian, at Hyderabad and this GWOP filed by the
petitioners at Nizamabad has no jurisdiction and this
petition filed for rejection of GWOP was rightly allowed by
the trial Court and there is no illegality or infirmity in the
said order.
8. Therefore, this Court does not find any reason to
interfere with the impugned order.
9. In the result, the Civil Miscellaneous Appeal is
dismissed confirming the order dated 22.01.2024 in
I.A.No.1047 of 2022 in GWOP.No.5 of 2022 passed by the
Principal District Judge, Nizamabad.
Miscellaneous petitions, if any pending, shall stand
closed.
_____________________
T. VINOD KUMAR, J
_____________________
P. SREE SUDHA, J
Date: 12.03.2025
ES
