The Delhi High Court issued a contempt of court notice to a woman for foxing a magistrate into awarding her son’s custody to her, hiding the fact that another court had given his custody to her husband.
A bench headed by Justice Vipin Sanghi said: “She is guilty of contempt of court as she has abused the process of the court, calculated to hamper the due course of judicial proceedings or the orderly administration of justice. She has made mockery of judicial process.”
The court ordered a contempt of court notice to be issued to her.
The court’s order Feb 21 came on a plea of the woman’s husband who pointed out to the court that his son was in his custody according to the order of the guardian court in September 2010. But, he told the court, his wife one day took away the child from his school and secured a magisterial court’s order for his custody under the provisions of the Domestic Violence Act, hiding the guardianship judge’s order.
For disobeying the court, Justice Sanghi imposed a cost of Rs.2 lakh on her, and directed that half the money would go to the Delhi Legal Services Committee, while the other half will go to her husband.
“The respondent (wife) is guilty of disobeying the orders dated Sep 30, 2010, and April 5, 2011, passed by the guardianship judge, by removing the child from the custody of the petitioner and by taking the said child into her own custody,” the court statement said.
The high court, granting the child’s custody to his father, also set aside the order of Metropolitan Magistrate that gave the child’s custody to the woman.
