Father Entitled To Child's Custody If Adultery Allegation On Mother Gets Accompanied By Neglect Of Maternal Duties: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has held that a father is entitled to the custody of the child when the allegation of adultery against the wife gets clubbed with her deliberate neglect and conscious abdication of maternal obligations towards the minor.

A division bench comprising Justice Anil Kshetarpal and Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar upheld a family court order granting interim custody of the child to the father and conferring visitation rights to the mother over adultery allegations on her.

“We are of the considered opinion that, albeit the mere allegation or even proof of an adulterous liaison, cannot singularly constitute the determinative ground for grant or denial of custody of the child, yet when such conduct is viewed in conjunction with the contemporaneous acts of deliberate neglect and the conscious abdication of maternal obligations, the cumulative effect thereof justifies the course adopted by the learned Family Court,” the Court said.

The couple got married in 2020 and a boy was born the next year. However, due to matrimonial discord, the couple starting living separately since 2023. The husband sought custody of the child on the ground that the wife was neglecting her parental responsibilities.

He alleged that the wife was involved in extraneous relationships beyond marriage and neglected the welfare of the child. He also relied upon certain photographs purportedly showing the minor child sleeping unattended on a pull cart in an open area.

Dismissing the wife's appeal against the custody order passed by the family court, the Court noted that the mother, in her testimony before the Family Court, conceded that she had eloped with another man.

It said that such an admission, emanating from the maternal authority of the mother, assumed considerable probative value and could not be brushed aside lightly.

The Bench ruled that the mother's conduct, when tested on the anvil of the best interest of the child doctrine, militated against the welfare of the minor, as it demonstrated her‟s conscious disregard of the stability, security, and environment indispensable for the holistic development of the child.

“Having regard to the totality of the circumstances as borne out from the record, the learned Family Court, was persuaded to hold that the custody of the minor would be best secured in the care of the Respondent-Father,” the Court said. 

“Accordingly, interim custody was entrusted to the Respondent, while ensuring that the Appellant was not altogether deprived of access to the child, by conferring upon her defined visitation rights, ensuring that both parties were afforded an opportunity of engagement with the minor during the pendency of the proceedings,” it added.

Title: X v. Y

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