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Mrs. Kanika Goel v. The State (NCT of Delhi) & Anr.

Criminal Appeal · 2018 INSC 622Decided 20 Jul 2018
Criminal Appeal Nos. 635-640 of 2018
Chief Justice Dipak Misra · Justice A.M. Khanwilkar · Dr. Justice D.Y. Chandrachud

Background

Kanika Goel and her husband, both India-connected but US-based, married in India and the US and had a daughter. After the marriage broke down, Kanika brought the child to India, and the husband obtained a US (Illinois) court order for the child's return and filed a habeas corpus petition in the Delhi High Court. The Delhi High Court directed Kanika to comply and return the child to the US court's jurisdiction, and she appealed to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court set aside the High Court's judgment and crafted a detailed, practical arrangement instead of a blunt custody order: the child's custody dispute would be decided on merits by the Family Court in Delhi, while the husband was directed to bear the cost of the mother's and child's travel, legal expenses, and comfortable stay if she later needed to appear before the US court. The Court balanced respect for the foreign court's proceedings against the practical reality of the mother and child's situation in India, declining to mechanically enforce the foreign return order. Both appeals were allowed on these terms with no order as to costs.

Lesson Learnt

In international child-custody disputes, Indian courts will look at the child's best interests and practical fairness rather than automatically enforcing a foreign court's custody order, and can fashion conditional, protective arrangements rather than an all-or-nothing outcome.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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