SHEETAL VASANT THAKUR Vs. CHIRAG ARORA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted

(2.) The present civil appeal arising out of Special Leave Petition (Civil) 18701-18702, filed by the mother of the child now about 10 years, is directed against (i) the order dtd. 27/4/2023, passed by the High Court of Judicature at Bombay in I.A. No. 4119/2023 in Writ Petition No. 7315/2022, modifying its earlier direction for appointment of a single independent expert by substituting the expression "expert" with "panel of experts"; and (ii) the subsequent interim order dtd. 7/12/2023, passed in Writ Petition No. 7560/2023, whereby the High Court itself constituted a four-member panel of experts, including professionals suggested by the father and experts situated outside Jalgaon and even outside India, to evaluate the minor child for purposes of facilitating reconnection with the Respondent-father.

(3.) The controversy before this Court lies at the intersection of two competing concerns. On one hand stands the claim of a parent seeking restoration of access and reconnection with the child; on the other stands the obligation of constitutional courts to ensure that a child who is already in a fractured family because of the discord and temporary separation of the parents, is also allegedly a victim of sexual abuse by her own father, is not subjected to processes which may aggravate the trauma and compromise emotional recovery of the child. The issue, therefore, is not merely one concerning custody or visitation rights, but concerns the manner in which the justice delivery system must respond to and engage with a child victim while balancing welfare, dignity, psychological safety and procedural fairness.