Special Bond Between Grandmother And Children Cannot Replace The Bond Between Natural Parents And Children

OVERVIEW 

In a very uncommon case, the custody of a 12 year child was sought by the grandmother of the child who refused to part with him. The natural parents of such child had moved the High Court of Bombay in order to obtain a legal order to enforce the grandmother of the child to part from her.

The Bench comprising Justice S. S. Shinde and Justice Manish Pitale, granted the custody of the child to his parents and held that “while there is a special bond between a grandmother and her grandchild, it cannot replace the natural bond between the child and his biological parents.”

The Court further held that “the ordinary comfort of the child, his contentment, health, education, physical, moral and intellectual development, upbringing and well-being, as also his future certainly lies with his parents.”

BACKGROUND 

The mother of a 12 year old, when sick and advised to take bedrest by the doctors, sought help of her own mother and shifted with her child to her mother’s place is Nashik in 2019.

During their stay in Pune, the child was admitted to an international school. After the mother recovered from her ailment and was ready to return to her matrimonial home, so that the child could be admitted to a school near their residence for the academic year 2020-21, due to the outbreak of the Covid19 pandemic they had to stay back in Nashik. 

Even though the mother of the child returned to Pune on May 2020, the 12 year old child stayed back at his maternal grandmother’s place attending the online classes of the school as a part of their curriculum.

Later, when the natural parents of the child went to Nashik to bring back the child so that he could come and stay with them, the grandmother refused to part with her grandson.

FURTHER DETAILS

The grandmother, on the claim of the parents of the child to come and stay with them, refused to part with the 12 year old, and sought help from her local Police Station and the Child Welfare Committee.

She went on to claim that there were matrimonial disputes between her daughter and son-in-law, which might prove detrimental to the psychological health and growth of the child and would for sure adversely affect the child.

The Couple then moved the Bombay High Court to claim custody for their child where the Court agreed with their contention and ordered the grandmother to part ways with her teenage grandson.

The Bombay High Court based their ruling on the recognition of the fact that the special bond shared between a grandmother and her grandson, though special, cannot replace the natural bond between the parents and their child.

The Bombay High Court also weighed the fact that the father of the child was financially stable, educated and was an educated person holding the post of Senior Engineer at a reputed Multi-national Company (MNC) while the grandmother was not of sound financial condition and was not very educated either.

CONCLUSION 

In the case where the biological parents of a 12 year old child claimed the custody of the boy from his maternal grandmother, the bench comprising Justices S. S. Shinde and Manish Pitale commented, "the paramount consideration in such cases is welfare of the minor child. For reaching a conclusion regarding the welfare of the child include ethical upbringing, economic well-being of the guardian, the overall comfort of the child, contentment, health, education, physical mental and his intellectual development."  

Considering that, the Court denied the custody of grandson to the grandmother, and said "There can be no doubt about the fact that there is a special bond between a grandmother and her grandchild, but it cannot substitute the natural bond of parents with their child."

The HC accordingly, handed over the custody of a 12-year-old boy to his biological parents and refused to send him back to his grandmother. 

A bench of Justices Sambhaji Shinde and Manish Pitale upheld the contention of the natural parents of the 12 year old child in the case.

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