Recently, the Bombay High Court held that while grandparents may share a close bond with their grandchildren, such affection cannot override the legal rights of the child’s parents.
In this case, a 74-year-old woman had been caring for her five-year-old grandson, as the boy’s parents were occupied with looking after his twin brother, who suffers from cerebral palsy. When property disputes arose, the child’s father asked his mother to hand over custody. She refused, insisting that she had raised the boy since birth and that they shared a strong emotional connection. The father then approached the High Court seeking custody.
The Division Bench of Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad observed, “The grandmother may share an emotional bond with the child, but such attachment does not confer upon her a superior right to custody over that of the biological parent.”
The Court stressed that parental rights can only be curtailed if custody with the parents is proven to be detrimental to the child’s welfare. In this case, there was no evidence of incapacity, the parents lived together, and the father was employed with the city’s civic body.
“Custody cannot be denied on the basis of allegations regarding emotional or financial incapacity,” the Court said, rejecting the grandmother’s claims. It further noted that property disputes cannot deprive parents of their lawful custody rights.
Lastly, the Court reiterated, while directing the grandmother to hand over the boy’s custody within two weeks, that the 'welfare of the child is of paramount consideration in custody matters'. However, it permitted the grandmother to continue visiting the child.
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