• Custody of child in case of separation

I want to separate from my husband of nearly 9 years and move to my hometown. We have a 3 years old child together. My question is if I consider separation, will I be allowed to take my child along with me? And, in case, my husband sends me a legal notice regarding the guardianship of our child, what will be the form of such a notice? Can he falsely claim that I have detained his child and gradually, is there a possibility of completely losing my child's guardianship?
Asked 8 years ago in Family Law
Religion: Hindu

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18 Answers

you can take your child with you .

2) file for divorce on grounds of mental cruelty. seek custody of your child

3) custody of child is generally awarded to mother

4) welfare of child is paramount consideration

5) also seek maintenance for your self and child

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
100010 Answers
8163 Consultations

1. If husband is agreeing for the divorce then you can keep the custody and if a contested case is to be filed then if you have the custody then they can file a case to claim custody.

Custody depends on the welfare of the child, welfare of the child is of paramount importance. If order of custody is passed against you then you may file an appeal.

Regards

Anilesh Tewari
Advocate, New Delhi
18103 Answers
377 Consultations

First of all you can file for custody of child in court as child is of tender age you below 5 you can retain the custody of child as granted by the court.

Secondly you don't file a child custody and takes child with you, you won't loose your custody of child and there can be legal Hassel as your husband can file habeus corpus for producing child in court nothing more than that the custody shall be decided by the family court on application of husband for which you can contest custody of child as child is of age below 5 you shall be given custody looking at welfare of child if nothing contrary. In child custody only importance is given to child's welfare nothing else and for child below 5 mother can take custody.

Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956

6.Natural guardians of a Hindu minor.-

The natural guardians of a Hindu, minor, in respect of the minor's person as well as in respect of the minor's property (excluding his or her undivided interest in joint family property), are—

(a) in the case of a boy or an unmarried girl—the father, and after him, the mother: provided that the custody of a minor who has not completed the age of five years shall ordinarily be with the mother;

(b) in the case of an illegitimate boy or an illegitimate unmarried girl—the mother, and after her, the father;

(c) in the case of a married girl—the husband;

Provided that no person shall be entitled to act as the natural guardian of a minor under the provisions of this section—

(a) if he has ceased to be a Hindu, or

(b) if he has completely and finally renounced the world by becoming a hermit (vanaprastha) or an ascetic (yati or sanyasi)

Explanation.— In this section, the expressions 'father' and 'mother' do not include a step-father and a step-mother.

Comment: Mother can act as natural guardian of minor even when father is alive : Ms. Githa Hariharan v. Reserve Bank of India AIR 1999 SUPREME COURT 1149

Shubham Jhajharia
Advocate, Ahmedabad
25513 Answers
179 Consultations

you need to file a custody for child case and if you child is below 7 years of age, it will mandatory go to mother and file for mutual divorce thereafter and seek alimony

Aveek Bose
Advocate, Kolkata
1222 Answers
9 Consultations

Dear Client,

Mother is natural guardian of child, her right of custody prevail over husband unless, manifestly proved that her company not good/unsuitable for kid.

In cases of child custody, benefit/welfare/best interest of child examine.

Landmark Judgment pronounced by SC dealing with guardianship & custodial and visitation rights to parents and children stuck in matrimonial disputes...

Read more at: http://www.livelaw.in/landmark-judgment-pronounced-sc-dealing-guardianship-custodial-visitation-rights-parents-children-stuck-matrimonial-disputes/

Yogendra Singh Rajawat
Advocate, Jaipur
23085 Answers
31 Consultations

1.if you keep the child with you then you do not require permission of anyone.

2. on the contrary then your husband will have to file suit seeking the custody or visitation rights of the child.

3. So there is no question at all to loose custody of the child. Just ensure the physical custody of the child with you.

Devajyoti Barman
Advocate, Kolkata
23662 Answers
538 Consultations

1) Minor child custody is with mother as per the most of citation cases provided and as per law.

· As per the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956 the Hindu child below the age of 5 years shall be kept under the custody of the mother as till this age it is only the mother who can give proper emotional, moral as well as physical support to the child.

So you don't worry the custody of child will remain with you.

Ganesh Kadam
Advocate, Pune
13008 Answers
267 Consultations

You have not stated any strong or substantial reason for getting separated form him.

Well during the time you are leaving your husband's home, you can very well take the child with you.

Since the child is less than 5 years old, the child shall remain in your custody only till it attains at least 5 years of age, after that if he files a child custody case, the court decide the case on merits.

If he sends a legal notice you give a reply and challenge his case in court of law.

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
90213 Answers
2507 Consultations

Dear,

your child age is just 3 years, and it's a law that from 1 to 5 years , custody of child is with mother only. So don't

worry of your husband and take care of your little child.

Tarun Agarwal
Advocate, Jaipur
768 Answers
3 Consultations

The child's interest and welfare is important viewed from any perspective. Your husband is entitled to file a guardian petition and may be granted visitation rights. He cannot allege that you kidnapped the child as it is with the mother.

Rajaganapathy Ganesan
Advocate, Chennai
2300 Answers
8 Consultations

Hi

1) As per law, mother is the sole guardian of the child till the child is 7 years old.

2) You will be allowed to take the child along with you and no person can stop you in this front.

3) Children after achieving age of 7 years will still continue to be under custody and guardianship of mother, if

a) mother can take care of the welfare and well being of the child with or without the financial support of the husband and

b) Mother is in good health and her interests are not adverse to that of the child's welfare and well being.

4) Father will be granted custody and guardianship of child only if he can prove the court that the mother's interests are adverse to that of the child's welfare and well being.

Hope this information is useful.

Rajgopalan Sripathi
Advocate, Hyderabad
2174 Answers
394 Consultations

The custody of the child if challenged in court will depend on decision of the said Court. The court will also consider the child's will before the said custody.

Prashant Nayak
Advocate, Mumbai
34687 Answers
249 Consultations

Hi, As the child is below 5 years, the Court will give custody of the child to you only. If he wanted visitation right or custody then he has to file petition under guardian and wards act.

2. Normally, the custody of the Child below 5 years will not be given to father.

Pradeep Bharathipura
Advocate, Bangalore
5625 Answers
339 Consultations

You can take the child with you any child below 5 years of age got the natural custody of the mother the father may claim the custody of the child only after the age of 5 and that should be contested in the meantime you can apply for this maintenance of yourself and for the child there are chances that you may lose guardianship but there must be a visitation right

Vimlesh Prasad Mishra
Advocate, Lucknow
6851 Answers
23 Consultations

1. You want separation or divorce from your husband since the two are different. In case of seperation you stay seperately with Court order but stay as his wife. Ordinarilyall the estranged couple go for divorce and not separation.

2. Please note that mother is the natural guardian of her child up to his/her 5 years of age. So, till then you won't have to nbe worried for the custody of your child.

3. After his/her crossing 5 years of age, your husband can file a custody case claiming that he should get his/her custody for his/her welfare and in that case you shall have to contest hios said case fittingly.

4. At this stage there is no possibility of yourmloosing the custody of your child.

Krishna Kishore Ganguly
Advocate, Kolkata
27736 Answers
726 Consultations

No, as the child is very small he or she can be very well comfortable with mother only.

And your husband would have to pay maintenance also.

No, you can’t loose your guardian ship.

Sanjay Baniwal
Advocate, South Delhi
5477 Answers
13 Consultations

Whether you will be allowed to take the child or not depends on how you are going to go about the situation. If you discuss your intention with your husband, he will obviously not allow you to take the child with you. So it is advisable to manipulate the situation in such a manner that your husband allows you to go to your hometown along with the child. There you can then take the steps that you desire to. However, it is always advisable, to discuss your decision to separate with your husband if you think he feels similarly.

He can claim that you have detained the child but the child in the custody of the mother cannot be said to be in unlawful custody. It is highly unlikely that you lose the custody unless and until your husband is able to establish that you are an unfit mother and/or a characterless woman.

Radhika Mehta
Advocate, Mumbai
484 Answers
4 Consultations

Hi,

You husband can file send the notice or file the case for child custody. But, you may respond that accordingly.

Ganesh Singh
Advocate, New Delhi
7172 Answers
16 Consultations

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