Custody case: SC overrides US court

NEW DELHI: Nine-year-old Nalanda had no hesitation in telling the Supreme Court on Wednesday that she would like to stay with her mother, little realising that her wishes were diametrically opposite to the orders of a US court, which had asked her mother to give her back her father. The minor's wishes weighed more with the Supreme Court. It directed that the mother would have the interim custody of Nalanda, even if it amounted to virtually overriding the US court order asking the mother to bring back the child so that she could be handed over to her US-based father. Searching for a solution in the face of conflicting orders from the US court and a Kolkata court on 'who should have interim custody of Nalanda', a bench comprising Justices C K Thakker and L S Panta decided to ascertain her views, for it was anguished that neither of the courts had paid attention to an important aspect — the minor's preference. Doing a grandfatherly chat with Nalanda, Justices Thakker and Panta talked extensively and got the answer to their query — whether she wanted to be with her US-based father, who had a decree to take her back to US. Nalanda stood her ground and expressed her desire to be with her mother — Nandini Chowdhuri. The bench agreed and ordered that till the Kolkata court took a final decision on Chowdhuri's plea seeking full custody of Nalanda, the girl will live with her. It also directed the trial court to decide the issue expeditiously and not later than July 31, 2008. After the daughter's views were known, the father — Rana Roy — withdrew his plea for giving effect to the US court's order but sought access to his daughter. What the court granted to the father is also novel. For the first time in judicial history, a father would have access to his daughter through webcam. Keeping in view the fact that schools are closed for the summer vacation, the apex court ordered that the father could chat with his daughter through webcam from 11 am IST for two hours every day. It also asked the mother to ensure that the father had telephonic access to the child as well as visitation rights as and when he comes to India during the pendency of the litigation in the Kolkata court. The mother, who has remarried after her divorce from Roy and has a child from second marriage, had rushed to the Supreme Court after the Calcutta high court refused to stay the rigour of a US court holding her to be in contempt for repatriating the child to India without prior permission and thereby depriving the father of the visitation rights which he was granted after divorce. When the mother did not appear before the American court repeatedly despite summons, the US court granted full custody of the daughter to the father and directed that the child be brought back to the US. "The allegation about flouting of US court orders is one thing, but the wishes of the child are also of equal importance," the bench said. The judges, during lunchtime, in the presence of the lawyers from both sides talked to the girl.
5 Jun 2008, 0000 hrs IST, Dhananjay Mahapatra,TNN
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