The Allahabad High Court, noting that the law cannot be allowed to impede the pursuit of justice, has awarded custody of a nine-year-old girl to the mother, from whom she was taken away.
In its Monday ruling, a division bench of Justices Saumitra Dayal Singh and Manjive Shukle noted that placing a child for adoption or foster care is neither in opposition to societal norms nor is it something to be despised.
Meena, the mother, filed the writ case challenging the Child Welfare Committee’s (CWC) decision to deprive her from custody of her child on December 13, 2022, in Fatehgarh, Farrukhabad.
“Adoption application that may be made by the petitioner may be considered in accordance with law. At the same time, the observations made in this order would govern the peculiar facts of this case as may not allow law to defeat the ends of justice that far outweigh the concerns of law.” said the court in its order on Monday.
The facts of the case show that Arjun, also known as Anjali, a third-gender person, gave the baby to Meena on November 28, 2014, when she was only a few days old.
The petitioner, who is a mother of four (three of whom are married and have children of their own), raised the child up to October 11, 2021, without interference from the government or anybody else.
However, the petitioner claims that Arjun, also known as Anjali, abducted the kid on that day. Shortly after, Meena moved to the CWC. The kid was retrieved on November 21, the same year, after her complaint. A month later, on December 22, after counselling, the petitioner had custody of the child again.
The kid was removed from Meena’s custody and placed in the Rajkiya Balika Grih, a government institution in Agra, on the basis of a report made by the District Probation Officer to the Agra district magistrate on October 20, 2022.
“Unfortunately, the District Probation Officer has mechanically made his report perhaps being swayed by the fact that the petitioner has four children born to her,” the court observed.
“Therefore, in the opinion of the District Probation Officer, the petitioner may have been ineligible in law to take X (the child) in adoption. While the law could not prevent the petitioner from giving birth to another child, it has been relied upon to deprive the petitioner from bringing up another child as her own,” it observed.
“While we are not in a position to undo what the law and law-enforcement agencies have unknowingly let X suffer,” the court said. At the same time, in the best interest of X, we allow the writ petition with a few directions.
“Subject to the petitioner applying for the adoption of X, which she undertakes to apply for within a period of one week from today, let custody of X be given over to the petitioner forthwith i.e. not later than an hour when she reaches the CWC with a copy of this order.” the court added.
“At the same time, subject to such compliance made by the petitioner, the District Probation Officer may remain within his jurisdiction to submit periodical reports with respect to development of X initially on a monthly basis for the period of first six months and thereafter as and when required by law,” it said.
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