Working Mother Leaving Child With Her Parents Not Illegal Detention, Habeas Corpus Can't Bypass Custody Proceedings: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court has held that a working mother's decision to leave her minor daughter with her own parents for care and upbringing does not amount to illegal confinement and cannot be challenged in a habeas corpus plea, particularly in the absence of any custody order or pending custody proceedings.A Division Bench of Justice N.S. Sanjay Gowda and Justice D.M. Vyas was hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by the father, alleging that his minor daughter was being illegally detained by her mother and maternal relatives.The father sought production of the child before the Court and a direction to set her at liberty by handing over custody to him."At the very outset, it is to be stated that the custody of a minor girl, and that too a 4 year old with her mother can never be construed as either unlawful custody or illegal confinement, especially when there is no proceeding pending between the parents regarding the custody of the child and when there are no orders governing the custody of the child...given the fact that the needs of a tender 4 year old girl are to be taken care of, the responsibility would essentially lie on the shoulders of the mother and not on the father. It is also to be borne in mind that in the case of a working couple, the difficulties of raising a child by themselves would also assume great significance and would be beset with a lot of difficulties. If a working lady, in this situation, decides to take the help of her parents to ensure that her child is brought up in a secure atmosphere, the husband cannot be permitted to say that such kind of custody amounts to illegal custody or amounts to unlawful confinement," the Court said.The petition arose out of a matrimonial dispute between the parents, both of whom are government employees. Due to successive transfers, both parents were posted at different places for some time and later started residing together in Kachchh district. After the parties started living separately, the father shifted to another city on transfer and, about a year later, issued a legal notice proposing dissolution of marriage by mutual consent. A criminal complaint under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code was subsequently filed by the mother.According to the father, in August 2023, the mother took their then four-year-old daughter to her parental home and thereafter kept the child with her parents against his wishes. He relied upon the fact that he had arranged the child's schooling and paid fees shortly before she was taken away, and contended that the decision to shift the child was taken unilaterally. The case of the mother, on the other hand, was that since both parents were working, it had become difficult to take care of a young child without family support. She therefore requested her parents to assist her in looking after the child. The central issue before the Court was whether the act of a mother entrusting the care of a four-year-old child to her own parents, without the consent of the father, could be treated as illegal detention so as to justify issuance of a writ of habeas corpus.Answering this in the negative, the Bench held that even if, for reasons such as work constraints or practical difficulty, a mother decides to leave the child with her parents for better care and supervision, such an arrangement cannot be characterised as illegal confinement.The Bench held that a father cannot seek to label such an arrangement as unlawful custody merely because it was not agreeable to him.“This is only an arrangement made by a mother to ensure that her daughter is well taken care of, and this will not entitle the father to file an habeas corpus petition,” the Court noted. Rejecting the submission that the child's welfare required immediate transfer of custody to the father, the Court held that habeas corpus is not the appropriate remedy to decide questions of child custody or welfare in a matrimonial dispute. Any claim for interim or permanent custody must be pursued before the competent Family Court by leading appropriate evidence on the issue of the child's welfare.Accordingly, the habeas corpus petition was dismissed.Case title: AKULKUMAR DINESHBHAI RANA & ANR. v. STATE OF GUJARAT & ORS.Case no.: CRIMINAL MISC.APPLICATION (DIRECTION) NO. 2 of 2025 In R/SPECIAL CRIMINAL APPLICATION NO. 11700 of 2025Appearance: MS ROOPAL R PATEL for the Applicant(s) No. 1MR. CHINTAN DAVE, APP for the Respondent(s) No. 1PUNITA H JOSHI for the Respondent(s) No. 2,3,4,5,8Click Here To Read/Download Order

Working Mother Leaving Child With Her Parents Not Illegal Detention, Habeas Corpus Can't Bypass Custody Proceedings: Gujarat High Court

Ananya Tangri

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