Ruhi Agrawal v. Nimish S. Agrawal
Background
A mother (Petitioner No. 1) and father separated in 2016, and their teenage daughter has lived with the mother since then as primary caregiver. The Family Court in Durg, Chhattisgarh gave the mother sole custody with the father getting only limited monthly visitation, but on the father's appeal the Chhattisgarh High Court expanded his visitation rights significantly, including video calls, fortnightly in-person meetings, and extended holiday time. The mother challenged this expanded arrangement before the Supreme Court, citing safety concerns and alleging a history of abusive behaviour by the father, while the case remained pending on merits.
Decision Breakdown
The Supreme Court declined to allow overnight or week-long stays during the interim period since that specific arrangement was the core of the dispute still to be heard, but otherwise permitted the High Court's expanded visitation schedule to continue provisionally. To balance the child's safety with the father's right to maintain a relationship with her, the Court modified the interim order to require that a female court-appointed Commissioner be present at all times during in-person visitation meetings, which must occur in public places, rather than allowing the mother herself to be present (as she had requested) or leaving visits unsupervised (as the father wanted).
Lesson Learnt
In contested child-custody disputes, courts prioritise the child's safety and welfare above either parent's convenience, and can craft supervised, court-monitored visitation arrangements, such as a neutral court-appointed Commissioner, as a middle path when both parents make serious, unresolved allegations against each other.