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Bombay HC Rules for Child's Best Interest Over Foreign Order
29 Apr
Summary
- Indian court dismissed UK father's plea for child's return.
- Child expressed desire to stay in India with mother.
- Court prioritized child's welfare and mother's difficult situation.
The Bombay high court has dismissed a UK father's plea to have his minor child returned to England, ruling that the child's best interests are paramount. The child, who was brought to India in 2023, expressed a strong desire to stay in India with her mother.
The court acknowledged the potential for irreparable emotional harm if the child were forced to return to the UK, especially given the mother's uncertain immigration status there and the father's withdrawal of consent for her to stay. The court also noted the child's good education in India.
The case involved a couple married in 2008, who moved from the US to the UK in 2019. Differences arose in 2021, leading the mother to bring the child to India. The father sought a habeas corpus writ, but the mother cited her revoked UK visa as a reason for her presence in India.
This decision on April 29, 2026, by Justices Sarang Kotwal and Sandesh Patil, considered the child's expressed wishes, the mother's practical difficulties, and the father's potential inability to facilitate the child's US passport renewal. The father can visit India to meet his child.
