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Summary
The court emphasized that even if a parent's adultery is proven, that parent cannot automatically be excluded from custody unless there is additional evidence showing that the adulterous act has adversely affected the well-being of the children
The Delhi High Court has emphasized that an adulterous spouse should not automatically be considered an incompetent parent and said that an extramarital affair cannot be the only determining factor for denial of child custody.
The bank of Justice Suresh Kumar Kait And Neena Bansal Krishna claimed that the issues addressed in divorce proceedings and child custody matters are different and not interchangeable.
The court emphasized that even if adultery on the part of a parent is proven, the parent cannot automatically be excluded from custody unless there is additional evidence showing that the adulterous act affected the well-being of the children.
The court emphasized that an “adulterous spouse” should not be equated with an “incompetent parent” and that an extramarital affair should not be the sole basis for denial of custody unless it is proven to be harmful to the child.
“Adulterous spouse” is not the same as “incompetent parent.” Issues to consider in divorce proceedings and child custody matters may be related, but are always mutually exclusive. An adulterous relationship or extramarital affair of one of the two spouses cannot be the only determining factor to deny the custody of a child unless it is proved that the adulterous relationship itself is harmful/harmful/detrimental to the welfare of the child,” the court said.
The case before the court concerned cross-appeals brought by a couple against a family court decision granting them joint custody of their two minor daughters, aged 12 and 10. The Supreme Court saw no reason to interfere with the family court's order and confirmed joint custody.
While the wife claimed that her husband had been erratic and irresponsible and had abandoned the family for long periods of time, the husband argued that her guardianship request conflicted with his divorce petition and his criminal charges of cruelty and adultery. The woman alleged that her husband's sister had kidnapped the children and she was thrown out of her matrimonial home.
Despite the evidence supporting the mother's extramarital affair, the Supreme Court concluded that this alone could not justify denial of custody unless it could be shown that her interests elsewhere exceeded the welfare of the children would have affected.
The court found that there was no evidence that the mother neglected the children or that her behavior negatively influenced them.
“The respondent/mother may not have been a faithful or good wife to the complainant/husband, but that alone is not enough to conclude that she is incapable of taking custody of the minor children, especially if no evidence was presented.” “She must prove that she failed in some way to care for the children or that her behavior resulted in a bad influence on the children,” it said.
Case title: Vineet Gupta v. Mukta Aggarwal
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