New Delhi: Hearing a plea by a Ukrainian mother who alleged her minor son was illegally brought here by his father during the Russia-Ukraine war, the Delhi High Court on Tuesday said the 3-year-old was not an object and it was imperative to secure his welfare and well-being. A bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Talwant Singh appointed a child counsellor to interact with the parents and the child for a better insight and remarked he cannot be subjected to more trauma.
What this court has to consider is the welfare of the child. The court is not for a moment considering the interpersonal relationship between the mother and the father. All that is imperative for the court to do is secure the welfare and well-being of the child, the court said. Once the report has been submitted the court will have a better insight as to where the child's welfare lay, the bench said. The court observed there was evidently a crisis in Ukraine and it cannot turn a blind eye to it, and asked the petitioner mother if she could stay in India for some more time so she could be granted more access to the child.
Your assertion is that it (the war) does not extend to where you live. We can't proceed on that assumption. This has been going on for a while and unfortunately there is no end in sight. And we can't turn a blind eye to everything that is happening, the court said. The bench added it understood the child needs both his parents as well as his sister. He (the boy) has undergone enough trauma. We can't subject him to more trauma. We can't treat him as an object, it said.
The petitioner agreed to continue to stay in India for some more time and said she will not take her child to a place where there is danger. She added the father took away the child unlawfully and she has come from Ukraine to take him back. The woman has alleged her son was abducted by her former husband on March 23, when he had taken the child for a walk but did not return. Lawyer Sravan Kumar, appearing for the petitioner mother, said a court in Ukraine has granted the custody of the child to the mother.
The court observed there was a procedure in law for enforcement of orders of a foreign court and said it will appoint a child counsellor before proceeding further in the matter. The court granted opportunity to the woman and her daughter to spend some time together with the boy at the high court crche and listed the case for further proceedings on November 30. Besides seeking the production of the child, the woman has also sought a direction to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or the Delhi Police to lodge a case for kidnapping, illegal travel of a minor without valid documents, creation of a fabricated Indian passport in Ukraine and causing pain to the petitioner and her daughter. (PTI)
