DEVIKA MEHRA Vs. PRASHANT PRAKASH SAHNI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this petition under Article 227 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner/mother seeks setting aside of order dated 24.06.2021, passed by the learned Family Court, Patiala House Courts, New Delhi, whereby her application seeking permission for her younger son/ Master Prithvi Mehra Sahni to study at Charterhouse Boarding School, United Kingdom (U.K.) has been rejected.

(2.) The marriage of the petitioner and the respondent was solemnised on 07.08.2005, whereafter they were blessed with two sons on 04.01.2006 and 06.09.2007; the elder being Master Pradeep and younger being Master Prithvi. However, on account of differences arising between them, the parties started residing separately since August, 2017. As both the minor children were residing with their mother at the time of separation, the respondent, in January 2018, preferred a guardianship petition, seeking sole custody and guardianship of both children, as also directions for interim visitation rights. This petition, bearing GP No.92/2018 is still pending adjudication before the learned Family Court.

(3.) On 12.03.2019, the learned Family Court, upon an application preferred by the petitioner, granted permission for the elder son/ Master Pradeep to study at the Charterhouse Boarding School, U.K. Though the said application was vehemently opposed by the respondent inter alia on the ground that since the two brothers shared a very close bond, it would not be in their interest to permit one of them to go abroad to study, the learned Family Court, after holding two interactions with the child and upon consideration of the reports submitted by the Court Counsellor as also of a Clinical Psychologist namely Dr.Nupur Dhingra, allowed the petitioner 's application for the elder son/ Master Pradeep to study at the Charterhouse School after noticing the fact that it was the respondent himself, who had nurtured the dream in the impressionable minds of his young children to study in a boarding school overseas, which would make it easier for them to take admission in a University of repute i.e. Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard. The Court also observed that the Charterhouse School was a 400-years-old school, having received a recent 'gold ' standard report from the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) which is an independent school body approved by the U.K. 's Secretary of State for the purpose of inspecting schools. The 250 acres campus of the Charterhouse School in Surrey, U.K., besides having world-class laboratories, 14 grass football pitches, 9 cricket squares, a golf course and an award-winning sports centre, also offered its students 80 cocurricular clubs and societies to choose from. It was also observed that the Charterhouse School was one of the five boarding schools in the United Kingdom that facilitated 'A ' level group practical examination for drama, giving its students an opportunity to work with award-winning professionals in areas like acting, stage set, lighting production and script writing, etc. The Family Court, thus, came to a categoric conclusion that to deny permission to Master Pradeep to avail the opportunity to study and learn in one of the best schools in the world would be against his welfare and accordingly, permitted Pradeep to study at the Charterhouse School.