The Bombay High Court has strongly criticized a family court judge for refusing to grant an urgent hearing on a father’s plea seeking interim custody of his two-year-old son who is scheduled to undergo open heart surgery. Terming the conduct “unbecoming of a judge,” the High Court intervened and granted the father temporary custody of the child.
The matter was heard by Justice Rohit Joshi of the Aurangabad vacation bench on Tuesday. The petitioner, a resident of Beed district, had approached the family court at Kaij seeking immediate interim custody of his son, citing the child’s need for open heart surgery at MGM Hospital in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar during the first week of June.
Despite the urgency, the family court refused to list the application for an urgent hearing. Taking a stern view, Justice Joshi remarked, “The conduct of the judge (family court) to say the least is unbecoming of any judge.”
The High Court was also critical of the child’s mother, who opposed the father’s plea, even though she acknowledged the child’s need for the life-saving procedure. “Equally shocking is the conduct of the mother who is opposing the prayer for interim custody despite specifically admitting that the child is required to undergo the operation,” the court observed.
In its order, the High Court allowed the father’s petition and directed that the child be placed in his custody for the duration of the medical treatment and hospitalization. “The child will be in the custody of the father during the course of hospitalization and the mother will get custody of the child back subject to further medical advice,” the bench directed.
