Overview

• The Bombay High Court’s Aurangabad bench set aside the Nilanga family court’s December 2023 verdict that had granted custody to the father under Muslim personal law.
• Justice Shailesh P. Brahme privately interviewed the nine-year-old and concluded that he was emotionally attached to his mother and unwilling to live with his father.
• The bench ruled that under the Guardians and Wards Act of 1890, a child’s emotional security and well-being must override legal entitlements.
• The mother was awarded full custody while the father received structured visitation rights and was barred from relocating the child without parental consent.
• The ruling highlights courts’ increasing reliance on parens patriae and international child-rights principles to balance personal law with welfare-centric outcomes.