The husband had filed for divorce due to a suspicion of infidelity and violence by the wife. During the divorce proceedings, the parties agreed to divorce by mutual consent. They agreed that the custody of their son would go to the husband and the mother would get custody of the daughter, with visitation rights for both parents.
However, the wife remarried within seven days of the divorce, after which the girl’s father was concerned for the safety of the child in the mother’s custody. Later, the girl also expressed that she was unhappy with her mother and step-father, and wished to live with her brother at her father’s house. The minor girl also complained that the step-father had inappropriately touched her, and that her mother threatened her. A case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 registered against the step-father was pending adjudication.
Thus, considering the best interests of the child and in view of the mother’s remarriage, the family court granted custody of the daughter to her father.
Source: Barandbench
