Dad in ‘live-in’ relation can’t get child’s custody, says Punjab and Haryana high court
Ajay Sura | TNN | Mar 9, 2019, 05:38 IST
Representative imageCHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana high court has held that if custody of a child is granted to a person in a “live-in” relationship without dissolution of previous marriage, there are chances that the child would learn that live-in relationships are the way of life.
A division bench, comprising Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain and Justice Harnaresh Singh Gill, passed the order and dismissed an appeal filed by a Hisar resident challenging the decision of a family court Hisar on child custody.
“The court cannot approve this kind of social set up .. because it would give a wrong signal to the society at large and would create an adverse impact on the tender mind of the minor child, especially a girl child,” the bench observed in its detailed order.
In its order released recently, the bench also observed that the high court was satisfied to conclude that the welfare of the minor child would not be in the company of such person as the “minor child would learn that the live-in relationship is the way of life, that too by such a person who is already married and having a living spouse.”
Appellant had thrown out wife over dowry
In this case, the appellant husband, a resident of Hisar, had married “A” (name withheld) in May 2005 and the couple had two daughters. The wife was allegedly harassed and humiliated for bringing less dowry and was thrown out of her matrimonial home by the appellant and without obtaining a decree of divorce, the appellant started living with “B” and had a daughter from that live-in relationship.
The appellant got the custody of one of his two daughters with the wife through an order from SDM, Hisar. However, “A” the approached Hisar family court and sought custody of her daughters on the ground that her daughter was being humiliated by the woman living with her husband.
During the hearing, the husband admitted before the family court that he was in a “live-in relationship” with another woman.
On this, the family court found it would not be in the welfare of the child to remain in the custody of the appellant because he is stated to be a habitual drunkard, living an immoral life. The husband, however, had argued that since he had admitted his daughter to a good school in Hisar and the welfare of the child is of paramount consideration, he should be allowed to retain the custody because the respondent-wife did not have any source of income.
Declining to give custody of the daughter to husband, the family court in Hisar in its order dated January 9, 2019, held that custody of a child could not be giving to a person who had fathered a child through a live-in relationship without even divorcing his wife.
Aggrieved from this, the husband had approached the high court.
A division bench, comprising Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain and Justice Harnaresh Singh Gill, passed the order and dismissed an appeal filed by a Hisar resident challenging the decision of a family court Hisar on child custody.
“The court cannot approve this kind of social set up .. because it would give a wrong signal to the society at large and would create an adverse impact on the tender mind of the minor child, especially a girl child,” the bench observed in its detailed order.
In its order released recently, the bench also observed that the high court was satisfied to conclude that the welfare of the minor child would not be in the company of such person as the “minor child would learn that the live-in relationship is the way of life, that too by such a person who is already married and having a living spouse.”
Appellant had thrown out wife over dowry
In this case, the appellant husband, a resident of Hisar, had married “A” (name withheld) in May 2005 and the couple had two daughters. The wife was allegedly harassed and humiliated for bringing less dowry and was thrown out of her matrimonial home by the appellant and without obtaining a decree of divorce, the appellant started living with “B” and had a daughter from that live-in relationship.
The appellant got the custody of one of his two daughters with the wife through an order from SDM, Hisar. However, “A” the approached Hisar family court and sought custody of her daughters on the ground that her daughter was being humiliated by the woman living with her husband.
During the hearing, the husband admitted before the family court that he was in a “live-in relationship” with another woman.
On this, the family court found it would not be in the welfare of the child to remain in the custody of the appellant because he is stated to be a habitual drunkard, living an immoral life. The husband, however, had argued that since he had admitted his daughter to a good school in Hisar and the welfare of the child is of paramount consideration, he should be allowed to retain the custody because the respondent-wife did not have any source of income.
Declining to give custody of the daughter to husband, the family court in Hisar in its order dated January 9, 2019, held that custody of a child could not be giving to a person who had fathered a child through a live-in relationship without even divorcing his wife.
Aggrieved from this, the husband had approached the high court.
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