End gender bias, divorced parents should get shared custody of minor children: law panel

May 23, 2015

New Delhi, May 23: Pitching for removal of superiority of one parent over the other, the Law Commission on Thursday recommended joint custody of minors to both the parents in case of a divorce, saying Indian custody laws must change with times.

divorceThe Commission's recommendations on custody laws assume significance as in India the idea of shared parenting is still new to custody jurisprudence.

"Neither the father nor the mother of a minor can, as of a right, claim to be appointed by the court as the guardian unless such an appointment is for the welfare of the minor," it said in its report submitted to the Law Ministry on Thursday.

It said wherever possible, courts should now grant joint custody of minors.

Recommending changes in the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act and the Guardians and Wards Act, the panel said even after the Supreme Court's judgement in Gita Hariharan vs Reserve Bank of India case, the mother can become a natural guardian during the lifetime of the father only in exceptional circumstances.

"This is required to be changed to fulfill the principles of equality enshrined in Article 14 of the Constitution," the law panel said.

The Commission said the amendments are necessary in order to bring these laws in tune with modern social considerations. Major amendments are recommended to the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890, by introducing a new chapter on custody and visitation arrangements.

It said amendments to the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 will be relevant for all custody proceedings, besides any personal laws that may apply.

The two draft bills proposed by the panel to amend the existing laws also deal with removal of preference for the father as the natural guardian under Hindu law. It says that both parents be granted equal legal status with respect to guardianship and custody.

The draft law also empowers courts to award joint custody to both parents in circumstances conducive to the welfare of the child, or award sole custody to one parent with visitation rights to the other.

Besides recommending changes in the two laws, the Commission has also provided specific guidelines to assist courts in deciding such matters, including processes to determine whether the welfare of the child is met; procedures to be followed during mediation; and factors to be taken into consideration when determining grant for joint custody.

The guidelines introduce several new concepts in this regard, including parenting plans, grand parenting time, visitation rights, and relocation of parents.

They also elaborate the position on related aspects such as determining the intelligent preference of a child, access to records of the child, and mediation.

The draft bills also empower courts to fix an amount specifically for child support to meet basic living expenses.

Financial resources of parents, and the standard of living of the child must be considered when fixing such amounts. Child support must continue till the child turns 18, but may be extended till 25 or longer, in case of a child with mental or physical disability.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
March 2,2020

Mathura, Mar 2: Union Minister of state Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti on Sunday said after the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), the Centre might bring a population control law.

Jyoti claimed that she has already spoken to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this regard.

She said she believes that this issue is under the prime minister's consideration and he himself has discussed the importance of bringing this law.

Jyoti arrived here on Sunday to attend a tribute meeting held at Swami Vamdev Jyotirmath in Chaitanya Vihar. Unnao MP Sakshi Maharaj was also present at the event.

"There was a time when abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir was impossible. It was feared that if such thing happens, there will be bloodbath. No one will be hold the national flag in Kashmir. But this government can bring any law in favour of the nation," Jyoti said.

"Now, everyone believes that if Article 370 can be removed...Prime Minister Narendra Modi can bring any law which is important for the country," she added.

Comments

expat
 - 
Monday, 2 Mar 2020

already people are childless. struggling for IVF treatment. no need of population control. it is automatically getting control byu nature.

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
May 22,2020

Mumbai, May 22: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday reduced repo rate by 40 basis points to 4 per cent in an effort to further boost liquidity in the economy which has been reeling under the impact of COVID-19 induced countrywide lockdown.

As a result, the reverse repo rate stands at 3.35 per cent, said RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das. The six-member monetary policy committee (MPC) voted 5:1 in favour of the decision.

Repo rate is the rate at which a country's central bank lends money to commercial banks, and the reverse repo rate is the rate at which it borrows from them. 

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
January 16,2020

Lucknow, Jan 16: The drive initiated by Uttar Pradesh's Yogi Adityanath government to identify non-Muslim immigrants in the state seems to have run into rough weather.

In Pilibhit, where the maximum number of about 35,000 illegal immigrants has been identified, it has now been found that information is being sought by the state government on an unverified document. A large number of families from Bangladesh settled here several decades ago.

The survey began last month even before the bill was notified. Moreover, the feedback email on the questionnaire is a Gmail ID -- [email protected] -- which is not a government server.

It is not known how the state government is drawing up the lists without having the verification criteria.

After the report was put up by a news website, Home Department officials feigned complete ignorance about the issue.

A spokesman said: "This was an unofficial and preliminary exercise to assess the number of illegal migrants in the state. The document is meant to collect basic beneficiary information. No list of potential beneficiaries has yet been sent to Delhi."

The document has eight columns asking for name, father's name, place of stay in India, and where did they come from and when. It does not mention any requirement of proof, or documents.

It also asks for a description of the kind of atrocities they faced, presumably in their home country.

The District Magistrate of Pilibhit claimed they are checking documents of the refugees, but denied any knowledge of the unsigned document.

The CAA is meant to benefit Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who came to India before December 31, 2014. The statement of purposes of the Act adds that it is meant to benefit those fleeing religious persecution from the above countries.

Comments

Abdullah
 - 
Thursday, 16 Jan 2020

Yogi is unfit to be CM as he does not know what he speaks and does.   Its unfortunate that we are such idiot as CM.    Instead of CAA we need PAA (Politician amendment act).    We need age limit of politicians to be fixed to 65 or maximum 70 years and any one coming in politics to be free from any bad doing.   No rapists/murders/looters/decoits should be allowed to contest election.   Presently 90 percent of the politicians have bad record.  Few are rapists, murders, having spent jail term etc.    

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.