NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that in a child custody battle, the rights of the child need to be respected as he/she is entitled to the love of both parents, and even if there is a breakdown of marriage, it does not signify the end of parental responsibility, as it is the child who suffers the most in a matrimonial dispute.
A bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and AM Khanwilkar said: “While deciding the matters of custody of the child, primary and paramount consideration is always the welfare of the child. The Courts should decide the issue of custody on a paramount consideration which is in the best interest of the child who is the victim in the custody battle.”
In a custody battle, the top court observed that no matter which parent wins but the child is always the loser and it is the children who pay the heaviest price as they are shattered when the Courts, through its judicial process, tells them to go with the parent whom he or she deems fit.
The ruling came as the Court heard a husband assailing the 2015 order of the Delhi High Court which partly allowed the appeal with the direction to the wife to comply with the consent terms, especially on the visitation rights of the husband to meet the son, who is now 11 years old. At the same time, visitation rights to meet the daughter, now 14 years old, were declined.
