The Punjab and Haryana High Court warned foreign nationals and said that Indian courts should not use the courts of their country to avoid the court process. This comment was made by the court during the hearing of a four -year -old child’s custody over the ongoing dispute
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The petition was filed by a Canadian woman who demanded to bring her son back from India. Justice Manjari Nehru Kaul made this important remark while hearing the case.
Actually, this child was brought to India with a Canadian citizen father last year. Both the parents of the child are foreign nationals and are now separated. A Canadian court had allowed the father to bring the child to India for just two to three weeks, but he did not take him back. Instead, he filed a case for permanent custody of the child in India itself.
Punjab Haryana High Court.
Court termed forum shopping case
The court called it a case of ‘forum shopping’, that is, when a person seeks to get a convenient court and try to get a decision in his favor. The court made strict comments, saying that this method not only reflects wrong intentions, but it is an attempt to tamper in judicial jurisdiction, which the Indian courts will neither accept nor tolerate.
In the petition, the child’s mother said that when the father did not return the child, in November 2024, the Ontario Family Court of Canada handed over the child’s custody to him. In this backdrop, the court admitted that keeping the child in India is not only a violation of the order of the foreign court, but it is also not in the interest of the child.
Not another option for mother’s care
The court also said that no matter how good and worthy the father is, and even if his separation from the mother is not appropriate, no other option of mother care for the younger child can be completed. The mother’s natural affection and care is considered more suitable for the child, especially when the child is very small or weak health.
The court admitted that according to the guidelines of the Supreme Court, the best interest of the child should be given more than legal rights in such cases. The court also said that maintaining the child in India is unauthorized and not only violates the rights of the petitioner, but it is also against the rule of law, international rules and the good of the child.
Questions raised on father’s intention
The court questioned the father’s intention, saying that it ignored the orders of the foreign court and tried to get legal rights in India, which is not acceptable. No parent can try to refuse the court orders, refuses to return the child, then try to call it a valid custody in India.
The child handed over to the mother
Justice Manjari Nehru Kaul said that in such cases it is necessary to balance the ‘mutual honor policy of nations’ and ‘best interest of the child’, but the final decision should always be taken keeping in mind the good of the child.
It was clear in this case that the child is a citizen of Canada and his goodness should be seen in the same context. The court in the end ordered the child to be handed over to his mother and sent to Canada.
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