Supreme Court of India in its daily orders of Soumitra Kumar Nahar vs Parul Nahar on 25 July, 2017 ordered the parents to handover the custody of the children to the District and Sessions Judge and the District Sessions Judge was directed to take the children to their particular schools and admit them. It further passed an order to the school authorities not to give the custody of the children to either of the parents or relatives without permission from this Court.
In the same case in its judgement dated 18 February, 2020 the Supreme Court further stated that the rights of the child need to be respected as he/she is entitled to the love of both the parents. Even if there is a breakdown of marriage, it does not signify the end of parental responsibility. It is the child who suffers the most in a matrimonial dispute. Further it was also clearly mentioned that while deciding the matters of custody of the child, primary and paramount consideration is always the welfare of the child. If the welfare of the child so demands, then technical objections cannot come in the way. However, while deciding the welfare of the child, it is not the view of one spouse alone which has to be taken into consideration. The Courts should decide the issue of custody on a paramount consideration which is in the best interest of the child who is the victim in the custody battle. The child pays heavy price of being deprived of the love and affection of their parents for which they were never at fault but are always the loser which at no stage could be compensated monetarily or otherwise.
Hence the courts do not decide and limit the custody of the children just based on the technicalities like the age and sex of the children. The courts consider the welfare of the children as primary and paramount to conclude on the custody decisions.
