Parent-Alienation Day to be observed by non-custodial parents
Parental alienation is not just limited to the husband, but women are also equally denied access to their children.
Non-custodial parents (spouses who do not have custody of the child), in Mumbai will be observing Parent Alienation Day (PAD), on April 25 as is observed in over 20 other countries. The group of spouses who don't have custody of their children and have been fighting a legal battle for years, hope and expect the Indian Judiciary to wake up to the truth of parental alienation. They also hope that they work towards creating an environment for joint custody, to ensure proper welfare of the child.
Parental alienation is not just limited to the husband, but women are also equally denied access to their children. Speaking to DNA on condition of anonymity, a woman who has been fighting for access to her two children, aged 17 and 14 years, said, "Till we separated, I was with my children all the time but since the last five years, I have met them only for 52 and 37 hours respectively. Courts should consider that relationship between couples can change, but the relationship between a parent and child has many layers.."
The non-custodial parents' group have made several representations to the Bombay High Court, family court, requesting for changes in the rigid approach. The group has also filed several applications under the Right to Information Act, wherein one of the applications, to which the family court replied stated: around 145 non-custodial parents have access to the children complex in the family court.
A father who has had limited access to his child said, "By interfering with the child-parent relationship, the custodial parent fails to understand that they are not only being cruel but also putting the future of the kid in danger."
All the non-custodial parents feel that In India, the law has always favoured the parent with whom the custody last resides and 95 per cent of the cases it rests with the mothers who are considered as the safest and strongest support for the children. The group has planned to hold a rally in Mumbai and Pune's family court.
