Bombay HC asks woman to bring son to India from abroad, says marital disputes are most bitterly fought cases in country

Children are treated like chattel or movable property in matrimonial disputes, the Bombay High Court said while directing a woman to come to India from Thailand with her 15-year-old son so that he can meet his father and siblings.

Such disputes constitute the most bitterly fought adversarial litigation in our country, said a division bench of Justices R D Dhanuka and Gauri Godse, adding that a child’s welfare is more important than the parents’ rights over her or him. The court was hearing a petition filed by a man seeking to meet his 15-year-old son who lives with his mother in Thailand.

The boy has suffered a setback because of the bitterly fought case between his estranged parents and he is keen to meet his father, the court observed. In our country, matrimonial disputes constitute the most bitterly fought adversarial litigation. A stage comes when warring couples stop seeing reason. The children are treated as chattel, it said.    

The estranged couple’s elder children – a son and daughter, both of them major — stay with their father. The man claimed that a family court in September 2020 directed his wife to provide him, the boy’s elder siblings and the grandparents free access to the boy, but she did not comply. The HC should direct the woman to bring the son to India during summer holidays, the plea said.

The court noted that the boy appeared to be very clear in his thoughts and his prospects and hence is required to be treated as an individual and it was necessary to respect his thoughts. It was necessary to strike a balance between the parents’ requirements and welfare of the child, the HC said, noting that if due consideration was not given to the boy’s views, it could be detrimental to his future.

For the growth of a child, it is necessary that a child has the company of both his parents as well as his siblings, the court said, adding both the parents should express some regret and adopt corrective measures.