BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court on Monday issued notice to the state and central governments on a suo motu public interest litigation for framing uniform guidelines for determining custody of minor children in matrimonial disputes.
A division bench of Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice Krishna S Dixit passed the order after hearing the petition that also highlighted various psychological impacts on children from separation or dissolution of marriage due to relocation, abandonment, neglect, abuse, etc.
Passing the order to initiate suo moto proceedings while hearing a contempt plea over child custody, the bench observed that in recent times, the evolution of the concept of the world as a global village has led to issues of a complex nature requiring special skill and expertise to deal with traditional means and methods.
The petition stated that with technological advances, a child need not lose touch with a parent over considerations of distance or time. Opportunities for a child to form and maintain relationships with both sides of their family are very feasible using videoconferencing, phone calls, emails and social media.
The guidelines may incorporate such modern channels of communication into custody orders as well, rather than limiting relief to physical meetings. It stated that there are various engagements for child custody, like physical, joint or legal custody.