Even if there is an extramarital affair, the child has the right of the mother

Punjab and Haryana High Court gave the decision

Even if a woman is in an extramarital affair, her right to keep the child with her cannot be denied. On the basis of a woman’s relationship with another man, it cannot be said that she will not prove to be a good mother. The Punjab and Haryana High Court has given this order while hearing a case regarding the custody of the child. The court says that in a patriarchal society, questions are often raised about the character of women and sometimes they have no basis at all. A woman from Punjab’s Fatehgarh Sahib district had filed an application seeking custody of her four-and-a-half-year-old daughter, who is separated from her husband, who is an Australian citizen.

Hearing the matter, Justice Anupinder Singh Grewal of the High Court said that the child should be handed over to the woman, who is currently residing in Australia. The estranged husband had alleged that his wife was in an extramarital affair with a relative. To this the court said that it seems to be a fabricated statement. No evidence has been presented in support of this. Many times in a patriarchal society, a woman is simply stigmatized for being characterless, while sometimes it has no basis at all. Not only this, the court said that even if a woman is in an extra-marital relationship, it cannot be said that she cannot prove to be a good mother. This argument cannot be a ground for not giving custody of the child to him. The judge in his order said that according to section 6 of the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956, a woman is the natural guardian of her child till the age of five years. The judge said that at this age children need love, care and affection.

Mother’s support is very important for any child during adolescence.
In the petition, the woman had said that they were married in 2013. The husband is a citizen of Australia and due to this she too had gone to Australia. A daughter was born to both of them in June 2017. However, after some time, a rift started between the two and then started living separately. The woman said that we came to India in January 2020, but after that the husband went back to Australia with the daughter, whose custody I want.