Child not an inanimate object tossed from one parent to other: Orissa HC

The Orissa high court noted that he child was always the victim in custody battles and in the fight of egos and acrimonies between two spouses

Bhubaneswar: A parent should not be denied permission to visit their child on the ground that the wife has not been paid maintenance, the Orissa high court has said, observing that the visitation right of a child is considered on a different pedestal of welfare of the child, which is paramount in considering the application.

The woman had reasoned that her husband not only deserted their son 13 years ago when he was hardly one month old, but hadn’t paid interim maintenance

Dismissing a petition by the child’s mother in Odisha’s Jharsuguda district on May 14, a bench of justice G Satpathy said the child was always the victim in custody battles “and in the fight of egos and acrimonies between two spouses”.

“The child is not an inanimate object which can be tossed from one parent to other. This Court is of the considered opinion that excepting the extreme circumstance, one parent should not be denied to contact or visit his/her child and the cogent reasons must be assigned while refusing visitation right of either of the spouses to their child,” the court said.

The woman had reasoned that her husband not only deserted their son 13 years ago when he was hardly one month old, but hadn’t paid interim maintenance.

But a civil court in Talcher in November 2019 allowed the husband to visit his son once in a fortnight, preferably on a holiday as per the date, time, and place fixed by the child’s mother.

The court also allowed the man to visit the child on his birthday and on the special festive occasions.

The woman had challenged the civil court’s order.