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| Can't Treat Child As Movable Property And Transfer Custody: Supreme Court | | | Agencies
NEW DELHI, Sept 7: The courts dealing with issue of habeas corpus regarding a minor can't treat the child as a "movable property" and transfer their custody without even considering the impact of disturbance of custody on them, the Supreme Court said on Friday.
A habeas corpus petition is filed seeking direction to produce before the court a person who is missing or has been illegally detained.
A bench of Justices A S Oka and A G Masih said such issues cannot be decided mechanically and the court has to act based on humanitarian considerations.
"When the court deals with the issue of habeas corpus regarding a minor, the court cannot treat the child as a movable property and transfer custody without even considering the impact of the disturbance of the custody on the child," the bench said.
The top court delivered its verdict in a case pertaining to custody of a girl child who is aged two years and seven months. Her mother had died an unnatural death in December 2022 and she is presently in custody of her maternal aunts.
A petition was filed in the top court challenging the June 2023 judgement of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, which had directed the maternal aunts to hand over custody of the child to her father and paternal grandparents.
The bench noted that in July last year, the top court had granted a stay of the operation of the high court's verdict.
The top court observed the high court was dealing with custody of child who had been in custody of her maternal aunts from the tender age of 11 months after her mother died.
"It is apparent that the high court has not dealt with and considered the issue of the welfare of the child. The high court has disturbed the child's custody based only on the father's right as a natural guardian," the bench noted.
It noted that as far as the decision regarding custody of a child was concerned, the only paramount consideration was the welfare of minor and the parties' rights cannot be allowed to override the child's welfare.
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