A Critical Study on Custody of Minors to Grandparents in India
Keywords:
Grandparents, Third party, welfare, India, Psychology, Divorce, custody, grandchildren, parents, legislationsAbstract
The paramount consideration in allotting child custody is by considering the best interest of the child. Custody is generally granted to either of the parents. Under special circumstances it is awarded to a third party with emphasis on grandparents. As a saying goes, “If you spoil your children, you have to bring up your grandchildren.” Consequently, the safekeeping of grandchildren is passed on to their grandparents. The paper throws light on the psychological effects on the child’s brain and effectiveness of awarding such custody considering the best interest of the child. This paper examines the role of grandparents in child custody by adopting the mode of empirical research. It will examine the cases decided in India in the last decade with the help of various legislations like The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, The Special Marriage Act, 1954, Guardians and Wards Act, 1890. It further draws a comparison of how this issue is dealt in other countries and its efficacy in those countries.
References
1. Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, No. 25.
2. Section 27 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954, No 43.
3. Section 26 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, No. 25.
4. Paras Diwan And Ors, Law Of Marriage And Divorce (2008) Universal Law Publishing Co.: New Delhi, at P. 702. JFAL (2020) 1–6 © Law Journals 2020. All Rights Reserved Page 6
5. Paras Diwan, Law of Adoption, Minority, Guardianship & Custody (2012) Universal Law Publishing Co.: New Delhi, at P. xvi.
6. Section 2 of the The Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956, No. 32.
7. Convention on the Rights of the Child, Art. 3, (1989).
8. Id., at Art. 18
9. Gilmore, Stephen, Great Debates: Family Law, Palgrave Macmillian, (2014) pp. 76-83
10. General Comment 14, at 52–79.
11. When Grandparents Raise Their Grandchildren, Sep 11, 2017 https://www. psychologytoday.com/us/blog/evidence- based-living/201709/when-grandparents- raise-their-grandchildren
12. Grandparents' Rights in the Child Custody Process http://www.attorneys.com/child - custody/grandparents-rights-in-the-child- custody-process
13. AIR 1942 Cal 215
14. MANU/SC/0459/1993
15. MANU/SC/0158/2001
16. F.A.M. No. 15 of 2008
17. AIR 2010 SC 1417
18. Kanu Sarda, Delhi high court gives child’s custody to grandparents, Nov 4, 2010, 03:39 AM IST
19. MANU/SC/0156/2017
20. Miscellaneous Application Nos. 2487 - 2492 of 2018 in Criminal Appeal Nos. 635-640 of 2018
21. 2019 Indlaw KAR 7690 Cite this Article Aditi B Madhusudan . A Critical Study on Custody of Minors to Grandparents in India. Journal of Family & Adoption Law . 2020; 3(1): 1–6p.
