PWDV Act: Mumbai Court Denies Custody Of Minor To Mother Living In PG

A Mumbai court recently denied to grant interim custody of an 8-year-old child to her mother on the grounds that she was living as a paying guest and thus would be unable to care for the child.

While denying the custody, sessions judge SN Salve also noted that the minor’s father was living in a joint family.

“The appellant (mother) is a working woman, respondent no 1 (father) is also a working person but is residing in joint family whereas the mother is residing as a paying guest. If the wife will go on work, who will take care of the child,” the judge stated.

The mother had approached the sessions court after a metropolitan magistrate had refused to grant her interim custody while deciding her application filed under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act.

The woman claimed that everything was fine when she married in 2010. But, as time passed, her husband’s family’s attitude toward her shifted.

The complaint stated that her in-laws took her child and asked her to leave the house in 2019.

According to the woman’s appeal in the sessions court, the magistrate failed to consider the child’s age of less than five years when denying custody to the mother.

The sessions judge took notice of an affidavit filed by the father in response to the woman’s allegations of domestic violence.

“According to the father’s affidavit, certain allegations about the mother’s character are made.” The documents on file support the allegations on the surface.

Given the allegations, the Metropolitan Magistrate correctly observed that it would not be just and proper to hand over custody of the daughter to the woman at this time, the sessions judge said while upholding the magistrate’s order.