HC: Child cannot be deprived from meeting either parent

A vacation bench of Justices S J Kathawala and P D Kode was hearing a petition filed by a woman from Pune, challenging the Pune family court's order directing access of her five-year-old son's to be given to her estranged husband for a month.

The family court had directed the wife to send the son to the husband on May 9. However, the wife refused to send the child and approached the High Court alleging that her husband was mentally unstable and hence, she cannot risk sending her son.

The woman's lawyer told the court today that the husband was mentally unstable and had in the past physically abused his wife. He further said the husband had not even been paying maintenance to the wife for well-being of the child.

However, the court was irked by this and said, "The problem is that he is not paying maintenance. How can you level such allegations that he is unstable? No child can be deprived from meeting either of the parent."

Justice Kathawala, while directing the woman to hand over access of the boy to the husband tomorrow observed, "Do not play such tricks with the court. You cannot use such tactics of claiming that the man is mentally unstable."

The matter has been posted for further hearing on May 25.

According to the petition, the couple tied the knot in 2006 but filed for divorce in 2009.