Orissa High Court Restores Child Custody to Father, Rejects Family Court’s Technical Objections

Overview

• The single-judge bench of Justice Sanjay Kumar Mishra set aside a July 12, 2022 Family Court order that had denied custody for want of the child's birth certificate and the mother's death certificate.
• The High Court’s December 1, 2025 judgment directed the maternal grandfather to hand over the minor to the father and allowed the grandfather to visit the child at the father’s residence.
• The court applied Section 6 of the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956, holding that the father is the natural guardian and that the child’s welfare favors paternal custody after the mother’s death.
• Paternity was treated as an admitted fact based on the grandfather’s written statement, with the court invoking Section 58 of the Evidence Act to reject the need for documentary proof.
• The court noted the child is about five and a half years old, found no allegations of abuse or marital dispute, and cautioned against denying custody on purely technical grounds.