KOCHI: The Kerala High Court has observed that if a woman is found with a male, it cannot be assumed that it was for pleasure. The division bench of the High Court also criticised the Family Court, Alappuzha, for arriving at such a conclusion while considering an application for the custody of a child.
“Merely for the reason that a woman is found in the company of another male, the family court came to the conclusion that she went for pleasure with someone else,” the HC said in its June 8 order. The division bench issued the order while disposing of a petition filed by the woman challenging the Alappuzha court’s order, granting the custody of her minor child to the father.
HC flays offensive language used by family court judge
“A woman may be morally bad in the societal sense, but she may be good for her child as far as the latter’s welfare is concerned. The so-called morality is created by the society based on its own ethos and norms and should not necessarily reflect in a contextual relationship between a parent and child,” the HC said.
According to the petitioner, her strained relationship with her husband forced her to leave the matrimonial home. However, the husband said she eloped with another person. A police case was also filed. Placing the FIR on record, the family court concluded that she had eloped with another person for pleasure and that the wayward lifestyle she chose would prejudice the child’s welfare, the plea stated.
The HC bench observed that it was disturbed by the language used by the family court judge. “The distasteful language depicts the mindset of an officer of high rank in the district judiciary,” said the court. The bench said n a matter related to the child’s custody, the welfare aspect alone has to be considered first.