Teenager to decide whether to stay with mom, grandparents

Mumbai: Letting a 13-year-old boy make a choice between staying with his US-based mother or Mumbai-based maternal grandparents, the Bombay high court allowed acceded to the child’s request that he wanted to stay in Mumbai till he completed his Class X education.

The court’s directions were passed while hearing a family court appeal where the parents were disputing the custody of the child. The child’s parents are estranged; the mother is based in the United States while the father works in Tokyo, Japan.

The mother wanted to take him with her, but the father was against it. In light of the dispute, the court had ordered that the passport of the child be deposited with the court.

A division bench of Justices Anoop Mohta and Ravindra Ghuge heard the civil application in a family court appeal. Due to the complex nature of the dispute, the court decided to have “a personal discussion with the child”.

The court said, “We made an effort to understand the mind of the child and his desire.”

The court concluded that the child wanted to be with both his parents and did not have a leaning towards either of them. The court found that the child, under the guardianship of his maternal grandparents, was happy with the nourishment, education and environment provided to him.

He stated that he wanted to live in Mumbai till he completed his Class X studies.

The court also interacted with the maternal grandparents, who gave an unbiased view on their squabbling daughter and son-in-law and their co-parent-in-laws. They expressed their willingness to take care of the child if he wanted to stay back in Mumbai.