Grandparents should also share custody of children caught in matrimonial disputes: Uttarakhand HC

The Uttarakhand High Court has said grandparents should also share the custody of children caught in matrimonial disputes and directed family courts to follow law commission recommendations in such cases.

In a recent order on a PIL filed by advocate Shruti Joshi, a division bench Justices Ritu Bahri and Rakesh Thapliyal said the child's custody in cases of matrimonial disputes should be shared by both the parents as well so that the child's emotional growth is not affected.

It has been observed that while dealing with the disputes of parents, a child's emotional needs and proper emotional growth are never examined and by the time the litigation reaches the high court, the children have already suffered much mental agony, the bench said.

Joshi's PIL was on addressing the mental anguish suffered by such children during the legal proceedings of matrimonial disputes.

The Law Commission has recommended the amendment of the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956, to make it more fair to children of parents involved in matrimonial disputes.

Since the procedure of amendment in the Act is a lengthy one, the high court gave a direction that all the recommendations made by the commission should be mandatorily followed by family courts.

The high court also asked the family courts to follow a letter dated 11.01.2024 issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice for the appointment of counsellors, who should be child psychologists, in such cases so that their report is scientific and can be taken as an evidence for granting custody of the child.

The high court held that a child's needs are most important and thus the court should have the power to obtain an independent psychological evaluation of the child in order to determine various related issues in the case of mediation.

Professional assistance may be required as neither the court nor mediators may be qualified to understand child psychology, it added.

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