Mumbai: The Bombay high court has ruled that a father can seek visitation rights to his child under the Domestic Violence Act, if the child is in the mother’s custody.
A woman had contended that the sessions cou-rt had made an error in passing such an order as under section 21 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, only an aggrieved woman could seek custody or visitation of her child.
The woman claimed that a man has no right to independently prefer an application under section 21 of the Act for custody orders. The petition also further claimed that a man could seek custody of his child only under section 26 of the Hindu Marriage Act.
The woman’s husband opposed the appeal, saying he was not seeking permanent custody of the child at this stage, but was only seeking visitation rights.
After hearing argume-nts Justice Prakash Na-ik dismissed the application, on last Friday, filed by the woman challenging a sessions court order granting visitation rights to her estranged husband.
Justice Naik in his or-der said that if the interpretation advanced by the wife were accepted, then it would defeat the whole purpose of the Pr-otection of Women from Domestic Violence Act.
