LT COL MANISH SEHGAL Vs. MEENU SEHGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a father's appeal against an order of 5th August 2013 by the Family Court granting custody of his two minor daughters to their mother ­ the respondent. The respondent/mother had earlier been granted interim custody by the same court for the Diwali vacations and the school winter holidays last year i.e. on 14th and 15th November, 2012 and also from 29th December, 2012 to 6th January, 2013 respectively. The couple had separated on 16 th August, 2012. The mother had filed the application for guardianship and interim custody of the minor children on 1st November, 2012.

(2.) UPON being permitted by the Court, the mother met the children Sana and Sarah (aged 7 and 9 years) during the Diwali festival in Lucknow, where they are studying in classes 4 and 6 respectively in City Montessori School. However for the winter vacations, she was not given their custody by the father. Pursuant to the proceedings of non compliance of the latter order, the Family Court directed the Commissioner of Police to depute a person not below the rank of ACP / a lady officer to accompany the petitioner to Lucknow and bring the children along with the respondent to the Family Court. The father and the minor children appeared in Court and the application of the mother was disposed off on 18th May, 2013. Against this order both parents appealed to the High Court. The appeals were disposed off on 29th May, 2013 with a direction to the Trial Judge to consider afresh the statements of the parties before it for an interim arrangement not only for the summer vacations but also interim arrangements during the pendency of the proceedings before the Trial Judge. The High Court made it clear that the Family Court would not be affected by the opinion expressed by it for the fresh reconsideration while giving directions which the Trial Court may be required to give.

(3.) THE Trial Court considered the contention of the parties. The mother's allegations and evidence was regarding alcoholism of the father, his alleged extra material relationship with another lady, (who the wife contended) was contemporaneously going through her own divorce proceedings, letters between her and the present appellant in this regard, their phone call records, proximity of the Delhi ­ Kalkaji address of both persons. The materials relied on by the appellant further were letters adduced by him­ in opposition to the application for custody, said to have been written by his daughters and by the Abacus teacher ­ (the latter informing the father that the children were getting disturbed perhaps because of the parents' personal life squabbles). The children's letters relied upon by the father were not found reliable by the Trial Court which reasoned that the children who were living with their father, would not write letters of such nature to him. The Family Court found the mother's contention more plausible and credible and the circumstances more conducive with the mother for the custody of the children. The Trial Court had reasoned that the letters were written after filing of the custody petition and indeed if the children were in the habit of writing such letters to their father ­ with whom they are living ­ then they must have written letters earlier and subsequent to the ones adduced by the father. However, for unexplained reasons, no other letters had been brought on record. Therefore, no reliance was placed on the said letters.