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Swaminathan Kunchu Acharya vs. State of Gujarat & Ors.

Criminal Appeal · 2022 INSC 639Decided 9 Jun 2022
Criminal Appeal No. 898 of 2022
M.R. Shah · Aniruddha Bose

Background

A 5-year-old boy lost both his parents to Covid-19 within a month of each other in 2021. His 71-year-old paternal grandfather filed a habeas corpus petition in the Gujarat High Court after the boy's maternal aunt (with whom the child happened to be staying when his parents fell ill) allegedly refused to let the grandparents meet him or take his belongings. Pending the case, interim custody was with the grandfather. The High Court ultimately awarded final custody to the maternal aunt, reasoning she was younger, employed with a Central Government job, unmarried with more time and a bigger family, while the grandparents were elderly and living on a pension. The grandfather appealed to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the High Court's reasons (the aunt's younger age, income, and bigger family) were "relevant but not germane," and that no adverse finding had been made against the grandparents' actual care of the child during the interim custody period; the child had even shown an inclination to stay with them. The Court observed that grandparents typically have strong emotional bonds and would take good care of their grandchild, and that being retired could mean more time devoted to the child, not less. Finding no evidence the grandparents were unfit or had failed the child's welfare, the Court set aside the High Court's order, restored custody to the paternal grandparents (subject to the outcome of pending guardianship proceedings), and directed visitation rights for the maternal aunt.

Lesson Learnt

In child custody disputes, the child's actual welfare and the caregiver's demonstrated ability to care for the child (not just proxies like age, income, or family size) must drive the decision; courts should not presume unfitness of one relative (such as elderly grandparents) merely because another (such as a younger, employed aunt) appears more materially resourced.

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

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