Environment during visitation rights also matter: SC allows father to meet child in mall

In its order, a family court had granted visitation rights to the child's father between 11:00 a.m. to 04:00 p.m. on Sundays in court premises.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has said that the environment during which visitation rights are exercised also matter, adding that granting such rights to a parent in the court premises could not be in the interest of the child.

A Bench comprising Justices AS Boppana and Manoj Misra modified the visitation rights granted by the family court and ordered that the interim custody of the child shall be given over to the father by the mother at the entrance of the mall for three hours on every Sunday.

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In its order, a family court had granted visitation rights to the child’s father between 11:00 a.m. to 04:00 p.m. on Sundays in court premises.

The father approached the Supreme Court after the Kerala High Court refused to interfere in the matter. On Thursday, the top court said that the repeated visitation rights in the court premises, would also not be in the interest of the child as the environment during which the visitation rights are exercised, would also matter.

Therefore, it ordered that the interim custody of the child shall be made over to the father by the mother at the entrance of the RP Mall, Kollam, Kerala at 11:00 a.m on Sundays.

“The petitioner father may take the child to the said mall and exercise the visitation rights till 02:00 p.m. of the same day. The custody of the child shall be made over to the respondent mother at the same spot (entrance of the mall) where the child was made over to the petitioner-father, at 02:00 p.m,” the Supreme Court added