SC cancels father's interim custody over lack of home-cooked food, emotional support

A man lost interim custody of his eight-year-old daughter after the Supreme Court overturned a Kerala High Court order that had allowed the child to live alternately with each parent for 15 days a month. The decision came after the top court found that the father's living conditions were not suitable for the child’s overall well-being.

The Supreme Court bench, comprising Justices Vikram Nath, Sanjay Karol, and Sandeep Mehta, noted several concerns: the daughter wasn’t provided with home-cooked meals, was isolated from her three-year-old brother, and had no company apart from her father during her stay. Though the court acknowledged the father's affection for his daughter, it concluded that the environment at his residence was not supportive enough for the child’s healthy growth.

The man, employed in Singapore, would rent accommodation in Thiruvananthapuram and travel to India monthly to spend time with his daughter. However, the court observed that the lack of home-cooked food posed a health risk for the young girl. Justice Mehta, writing the judgment, emphasized that a child of her age needs nutritious, home-prepared meals for proper development, which the father could not provide.


Beyond food, the court stressed the emotional needs of the child, noting that she lacked peer or family companionship during the custody period. In contrast, the mother works from home and lives with her parents, offering a more emotionally stable and supportive environment, including the presence of the younger sibling.

The court also criticized the High Court’s earlier decision to grant 15-day custody of the three-year-old son to the father, calling it “grossly unjustified” and potentially harmful to the child’s emotional and physical well-being.

The Supreme Court modified the custody arrangement, allowing the father to have interim custody of his daughter on alternate weekends and to interact with both children via video calls twice a week. Additionally, he may spend up to four hours with his daughter on one of the call days, under the supervision of a child counsellor and depending on the child’s comfort.

[With TOI inputs]