Emphasizing that estranged couples must prioritize their children’s well-being over their personal disputes, the Calcutta High Court has modified a temporary custody arrangement for a child diagnosed with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
In a recent ruling, Justice Om Narayan Rai declared that “parents should be ready to sacrifice their own wishes for the best interest” of their children, urging the mother and father to ensure they do not betray the hope and trust of the child’s treating doctor.
The High Court’s intervention came during a hearing on a plea filed by the mother, who challenged a May 2 trial court order that had granted the father temporary custody of their elder son for two weeks during the summer vacation.
Recognizing the special needs of the child, the High Court worked with both parties to establish a modified, 11-day custody arrangement starting May 17. The transition is designed to prioritize the comfort of the child, who requires a consistent medication schedule and routine:
- Daytime-Only Phase (First 5 Days): The father’s custody will be strictly limited to the daytime.
- Proximity & Sleep: The mother will reside approximately five minutes away from the father’s residence. The father can pick up the child at any time during the day, but the child will return to the mother’s care at night to ensure sound sleep.
- Transition to Overnight Custody: If the child successfully acclimatizes and adapts to the father’s home environment during the first five days, the arrangement will transition into full day-and-night custody with the father for the remaining period.
The court explicitly directed that the father must bear all travel expenses for the child and his mother from Bengaluru to Kolkata and back. Additionally, all previous court directives regarding the child’s specific medication schedule must strictly continue.
During the proceedings, the Calcutta High Court emphasized that the estranged couple has a collective responsibility to ensure that the child’s ADHD condition improves and develops, warning that there must be “no deterioration, even in the least.”
The parents are currently locked in an ongoing legal battle over the custody of their two children. The father had previously initiated proceedings under the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890, in the Alipore court to secure custody rights. While he had also filed an interim application for temporary summer custody at the trial court level, that application was ultimately disposed of, leading to the current High Court appeal.
In the High Court, the mother was represented by Senior Advocate Aniruddha Chatterjee, who confirmed the logistical feasibility of the five-minute distance between the parents’ temporary residences. The husband was represented by Senior Advocate Probal Kumar Mukherjee.
Through their legal counsel, both parents ultimately reached a broad consensus on this structured custody path, aligning with the High Court’s firm stance on child-centric justice.
