"Children Not Parents' Property": Court Says Adults Free To Choose Life Partner

In a landmark ruling, the Bombay High Court has held that adult children are free individuals and not their parents' property.

Dismissing a petition by a mother seeking custody of her daughter who chose to live with a person of her choice, the court upheld the girl's right to decide.

The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court made it clear that if an adult woman has chosen her life partner of her own free will, a habeas corpus petition cannot be filed to seek her custody.

A habeas corpus petition is a legal request to a court to order a person holding someone in custody to produce them before a judge.

The court made the observation while dismissing a petition filed by a mother seeking custody of her adult daughter.

The girl from Nagpur had left home at the age of 17 to go for tuition classes. CCTV footage later showed her leaving with a young man.

The police later traced the girl and handed her over to her mother. However, after she left home again, the mother approached the High Court seeking her custody.

During the hearing, the court interacted directly with the girl. She told the court that she had left her mother's home of her own accord to be with the young man and wished to continue living with him.

While hearing the matter, the court observed that the girl is now a major and has the right to choose her life partner.

The court also rejected the mother's claim that the man had kept her in illegal confinement when she was a minor.

The mother had further alleged that no case had been registered against the man under the POCSO Act.

Citing the Supreme Court's stand, the High Court said that in child custody matters, the welfare of the child is paramount and takes precedence over the rights of parents.

The court said that for a habeas corpus petition to succeed, illegal custody must be proved. Since that was not established in this case, the Nagpur bench dismissed the mother's plea.