MADURAI: A government employee has been permitted to take his six-year-old son along with him by the Madurai bench of the Madras high court.
P Saravanan of Andipatti in Theni district and Nandhini of Bodi in the same district married each other seven years ago. Their son Sujit is six years old. Due to a family dispute, Saravanan had custody of Sujit since last year.
Protesting this, Nandhini filed a habeas corpus before the bench seeking custody of Sujit.
In her petition, she contended that her son had been detained by her husband and the court should direct the police to hand him over to her. When the petition came up for hearing before the bench comprising Justices M Jaichandren and S Nagamuthu on November 15, the counsel for the father told the court that the boy's mother had an affair with another person and that the boy was not willing to reside with his mother.
He further told the court that an 'adultery' complaint against Nandhini has been lodged with the local police. The police filed a chargesheet in that case and the same was pending before the Bodi Judicial Magistrate court.
Besides, a petition seeking confirmation of the child's custody under the Guardian and Wards Act has been filed before the Theni District Court. Meantime, Nandhini filed the habeas corpus, Saravanan's counsel told the court.
After hearing this, the division bench ordered that the boy be produced.
Accordingly, the child was produced before the court. The boy clearly told the judges that he wanted to go with his father.
The court wanted to preclude the possibility that the boy's response had been tutored by the father and hence appointed one woman advocate, J Saranya, as amicus curiae last Friday (November 25) to ascertain the boy's actual wish. Accordingly, three people, Nandhini, the lady advocate and the boy alone were allowed in the registrar's room on Friday.
The amicus curiae later told the court that the boy wanted to go with his father and was scared to go near his mother.
In its order, the bench said the boy wanted to go along with his father. Both parties can approach the concerned forum for custody of the child. Until then, the father was permitted to take the child.
