SACHIN NARAYANAN PILLAI Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners are estranged husbands and are contestants in issues related to custody of children in cases pending before the Family Courts with their respective wives as the opposite parties. According to the petitioners, they often face with adverse orders in matters of their visitorial rights, interim custody of the ward, guardianship and such other issues involving their children in the proceedings before the Family Courts. The grievance of the petitioners is that orders passed by the Family Courts lacks objective assessment based on any scientific criteria and is often passed purely on the subjective satisfaction of the Judges. It is stated that though 'interest of the child' is often stated to be the primary concern of the Court, the interest of the child quite often becomes a casualty. It is in this background the petitioners have approached this Court with this petition filed as a Public Interest Litigation with the following two prayers:

(2.) We heard the Counsel for the petitioners and the learned State Attorney appearing for the 1st respondent.

(3.) While the learned Counsel for the petitioners reiterated the aforesaid contentions and impressed upon the need for laying down scientific guidelines for an objective assessment of the welfare of the child, which should be of prime consideration in a dispute between the parents involving issues relating to custody of the child, the learned State Attorney contended that such issues have to be decided applying discretionary powers of the concerned Courts. According to him, the discretionary power so vested is to be exercised by the Court, with the welfare of the child in the forefront. It is stated that if any one of the litigants has a grievance that such a power has been exercised on subjective assessment by the Judge concerned or that the welfare of the child has become a casualty, such an order should be corrected in appropriate proceedings before a superior forum.