BACHUJI WADHAJI THAKORE Vs. KANJIBHAI SHAMBHUBHAI GODHANI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is filed under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent by the appellants - original petitioners against the order dated 01. 08. 2016 passed by the learned Single Judge in Special Civil Application No. 11854 of 2016, by which the learned Single Judge has dismissed the petition. The appellants and respondents are addressed as per their original nomenclature in this order.

(2.) 1. It is the case of the petitioners that they got married on 06. 11. 1997. They are having two daughters from their marriage being Tanishqa Badshah born on 27. 10. 1999 and Mariyam Badshah born on 06. 08. 2006. The petitioners have also one daughter viz. Lamya Bata, being daughter of petitioner No. 2 from her earlier marriage. At the relevant time when baby Mariyam was born on 06. 08. 2006 they were residing at Nasik, Maharashtra State. It is stated that the original respondent No. 3, who was cousin brother of petitioner No. 2, and his wife had approached the petitioners at the time when petitioner No. 2 was pregnant with baby Mariyam and requested to give custody of the said child. It is stated that since the cousin brother of petitioner No. 2 and his wife were childless and because of some medical complications it was not possible for them to have their own biological child, at the repeated requests, they had decided to give the custody of the said child to the respondent no. 3 and his wife. It is stated that it was temporary arrangement and there is no concept of adoption under the Muslim Law.

(2.) It is the case of the petitioners that birth of baby Mariyam has been registered with Nasik Public Health Department of Nasik Municipal Corporation and the birth certificate dated 27. 09. 2006 of baby Mariyam was issued. Subsequently, the petitioners migrated to Australia along with their two elder daughters and at that time baby Mariyam was in the care of her foster parents. It is alleged that when the petitioners have decided to prepare a passport of baby Mariyam, the foster parents i. e. the respondent No. 3 and his wife started acting strangely. Petitioners, therefore, made inquiry and came to know that fabricated birth certificate of baby Mariyam had been prepared from Surat Municipal Corporation by showing baby Mariyam as biological daughter of respondent No. 3 and his wife. When the birth certificate issued by Surat Municipal Corporation was seen by the petitioners they realized that the said authority issued the certificate on the basis of the affidavit dated 21. 11. 2006filed by the respondent No. 3. A copy of the same was obtained by the petitioners under the Right to Information Act.