Case:- Komal Krishan Arora & Ors Vs Sandeep Kumar & Ors
Citation:- 2025 INSC 1123
Date:- 16.09.2025
Hon’ble Supreme Court Bench:- JUSTICE J.K. MAHESHWARI & JUSTICE VIJAY BISHNOI
The Hon’ble Supreme Court allowed a man to have interim custody of his six-year-old son as his wife left for the United Kingdom in 2021 without informing him and left the child with her parents.
- The mother left India for the United Kingdom (UK) without informing her husband and took both children along, according to her claim.
- The father, unaware of their whereabouts, lodged a police complaint on June 3, 2021, and approached child helplines, which told him the mother and children were “safe” in the UK . The father approached the UK High Court (Family Division), arguing that the mother had wrongfully removed the children from India. The UK court issued a location order and directed the mother to allow video calls between the father and children thrice a week. Despite the UK court’s orders, the father noticed that his son never appeared properly during video calls as the child’s face and background were hidden. This raised suspicion that the child was not in the UK.
- On September 16, 2021, during a visit to Sonipat, the father found his son playing near his in-laws’ house. When he tried to meet him, he was attacked by the maternal relatives and sustained rib fractures. Following this incident, the father filed a habeas corpus petition before the Hon’ble Punjab and Haryana High Court, alleging that the child was in illegal custody of the maternal grandparents.
- On November 16, 2021, the Hon’ble High Court ordered that custody of Master K be handed to the father, recognizing him as the natural guardian and observing that it would be in the child’s best interest.
- The mother and her family members challenged the Hon’ble High Court’s order before the Supreme Court of India, leading to a prolonged cross-border custody battle. During this time, both parties obtained divorce decrees, the mother from a UK Family Court (December 21, 2021) and the father from a Family Court in Jind, Haryana (September 20, 2022). Each party, however, challenged the other’s decree in appeal.
- The UK High Court in its judgment dated November 12, 2021 exposed the mother’s deception, stating that she misled the court by failing to disclose that her son was in India, calling her act a “crude subterfuge”.
- The Hon’ble Supreme Court found that the mother deliberately concealed facts, deprived the father of contact with his child, and disrespected court orders in both countries. The Court noted that the father is a qualified engineer with a Master’s in Computer Science, a PG Diploma in Business Administration, and international work experience in Singapore, the UK, and the USA. He resides in Noida, owns property, and has sufficient income to provide for the child’s welfare.
- The Hon’ble Supreme Court’s Directed The child’s custody must be handed to the father within 15 days the Supreme Court dismissed the mother’s appeal, upheld the High Court’s order, and emphasized that the welfare and best interest of the child override all parental disputes, condemning the mother’s conduct for misusing both Indian and UK courts.
