When it comes to deciding who should be given custody of a five-year-old child, it is preferable to let the biological mother and stepfather take care of the child than forcing him or her to live along with the biological father and stepmother, the Madras High Court has said.
Justices Paresh Upadhyay and D. Bharatha Chakravarthy made the observation while reversing an order passed by a single judge directing a woman to handover the custody of her son to her former husband since the judge felt that the stepfather might not take care of the child.
Disagreeing with such a conclusion arrived at by the judge, the Division Bench said: “We are of the opinion, that it is based on general opinion and not on any evidence as to the facts of the case. There is nothing on record in the present case that he (stepfather) did not take proper care.”
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