Smt. Lakshminarasamma Vs Sri. Bharathkumar… — Child Custody and Guardianship | Karnataka HC (2025)

Smt. Lakshminarasamma Vs Sri. Bharathkumar… — Child Custody and Guardianship | Karnataka HC (2025)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Appeal disposed of accordingly: appellants directed to hand over custody of the minor (Ms. Danvika V.B) to the first respondent on 01.08.2025; first respondent to take the child to the appellants' residence once every 15 days, preferably on a Sunday, and permit the appellants to visit otherwise at their convenience; pending applications stand disposed of.

Issue for consideration

Whether the custody of the minor girl should rest with the first respondent (her father and natural guardian) or with the appellants (maternal grandmother and uncle) following the mother's suicide. +1 more

Court's answer

Nothing is pointed out to disqualify the first respondent, the natural guardian, from having the custody of the minor girl.

Ratio / Principle

It is a material circumstance that the father will employ his resources for the child's development: the first respondent stated before this Court that he shall admit the child in a Kindergarten at Koratagere and will take her to the appellants' residence at least once in 15 days, and that the appellants could any day visit the child at his residence.

Key takeaways

There is no reason for interference with the impugned order; the appellants must hand over the custody of the child to the first respondent.ratio¶47
The first respondent must take the child to the appellants' residence once in every 15 days, preferably on a Sunday, and permit the appellants to visit the child otherwise at their convenience.ratio¶47

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

MFA under Section 47(a) of the Guardians and Wards Act against the judgment and award dated 27.01.2025 in G and WC No.26/2023 (IV Additional District and Sessions Judge, Tumakuru sitting at Madhugiri), whereby the father's petition under Sections 7 and 10 of the Guardian and Wards Act 1890 was allowed and the maternal grandmother and uncle were ordered to surrender custody of the three-year-old minor (Ms. Danvika V.B) to her father after the mother's suicide. Considering the rival contentions in the light of the trial court's reasoning, the Division Bench (judgment per Justice B M Shyam Prasad, with Justice D K Singh concurring) held that nothing disqualified the natural-guardian father, who lives with his 60-year-old mother and an Ayurvedic-doctor sister, is an outsourced PWD employee, and undertook to school the child at Koratagere and visit the appellants fortnightly. Finding no reason for interference, the appeal was disposed of: child to be handed over on 01.08.2025; father to bring the child to the appellants' residence once every 15 days, preferably on a Sunday; appellants free to visit otherwise at their convenience; pending applications disposed of.

1 -

NC: 2025:KHC:28729-DB MFA No. 1466 of 2025

HC-KAR

IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU

DATED THIS THE 25^TH DAY OF JULY, 2025

PRESENT

THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE D K SINGH

AND

THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE B M SHYAM PRASAD MISCELLANEOUS FIRST APPEAL NO. 1466 OF 2025

(GW)

BETWEEN:

SMT. LAKSHMINARASAMMA W/O HANUMANTHARAYAPPA, AGED ABOUT 52 YEARS,

MANU.H., S/O HANUMANTHARAYAPPA, AGED ABOUT 24 YEARS

BOTH ARE R/AT ARASAPURA VILLAGE (AT AND POST), HOLAVANAHALLI HOBLI, KORATAGERE TALUK, TUMAKURU DISTRICT.

…APPELLANTS

Digitally signed by VASANTHA KUMARY B K Location: High Court of Karnataka

(BY SRI. V JAVAHAR BABU., ADVOCATE)

AND:

SRI. BHARATHKUMAR. V. K. S/O LATE. KRISHNAPPA V.S., AGED ABOUT 34 YEARS, R/AT SOMPURA VILLAGE, HOLAVANAHALLI HOBLI, KORATAGERE TALUK.

SRI. HANUMANTHARAYAPPA, S/O LATE. NARASIMHAPPA, AGED ABOUT 58 YEARS, R/AT GOWDETI VILLAGE,

2 -

NC: 2025:KHC:28729-DB MFA No. 1466 of 2025

HC-KAR

VIRUPASANDRA PANCHAYATHI, GANGARAVARA HOBLI, PAVAGADA TALUK-561 202.

…RESPONDENTS

(BY SRI. NARASIMHARAJU N L., ADVOCATE FOR R-1; NOTICE SERVED ON R-2)

THIS MFA IS FILED UNDER SECTION 47(a) OF GUARDIANS AND WARDS ACT, AGAINST THE JUDGMENT AND AWARD DATED 27.01.2025 PASSED ON G AND WC NO.26/2023 ON THE FILE OF THE IV ADDITIONAL DISTRICT AND SESSIONS JUDGE, TUMAKURU SITTING AT MADHUGIRI, ALLOWING THE PETITIONER FILED U/S 7 AND 10 OF GUARDIAN AND WARDS ACT 1890.

THIS APPEAL, COMING ON FOR HEARING, THIS DAY, JUDGMENT WAS DELIVERED THEREIN AS UNDER:

CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE D K SINGH and

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE B M SHYAM PRASAD

ORAL JUDGMENT

(PER: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE B M SHYAM PRASAD)

Sri. V Javahar Babu and Sri. S Kumar, the learned counsels for the appellant and the first respondent respectively, are heard for disposal of the appeal. The District and Sessions Judge has allowed the first respondent’s petition with a direction to the appellants [the maternal grandmother and uncle] to hand over the custody of the minor child [Ms.

3 - NC: 2025:KHC:28729-DB MFA No. 1466 of 2025

HC-KAR

Danvika V.B] to the first respondent, who is her father.

In brief, the circumstances leading to the

present petition are that the mother [the first respondent's wife] has committed suicide resulting in a dispute between the first respondent and the appellants over the custody of a minor child. The maternal grandfather [the second respondent] is also a party to the present proceedings, but he has not participated in the proceedings and in fact, he has not joined the appellants in filing the appeal. The material circumstances are that, there is no proof of actual income of either of the appellants, and the first respondent is an outsourced employee with the PWD Department, and he lives with his family members, including his mother, who is 60 years old and a married sister. This sister, who is living with the first respondent and his mother, is an Ayurvedic Doctor.

4 - NC: 2025:KHC:28729-DB MFA No. 1466 of 2025

HC-KAR

The child is attending a Kindergarten which is 10 kilometers from the appellants' residence

If the first respondent's case is that he has to travel every day for 40 kilometers from his residence [ in Koratagere ] to pick the child from the appellants’ residence to take her to the Kindergarten and drop the child back, an assertion which is denied by the appellants. The appellants further contend that this Court must allow the minor to be with the appellants at least until she attains the age of 5 years and she is only 3 years old now and that she can grow with the grandmother for the next 2 years.

These rival contentions are considered in the light of the Family Court’s reasoning. This Court must observe that nothing is pointed out to disqualify the first respondent who is the natural guardian from having the custody of the minor girl when he has the assistance of his mother and a very qualified sister living with him. This Court must next observe that

5 - NC: 2025:KHC:28729-DB MFA No. 1466 of 2025

HC-KAR

these are material circumstances as would be the assertion that the father will employ his resources for the child’s development, and in fact, his statement before this Court is that he shall admit the child in a Kindergarten at Koratagere and he will take the child to the appellants' residence at least once in 15 days and the appellants themselves could any day visit the child at his residence.

considered, this Court is of the view that there is no reason for interference with the impugned order and the appellants must hand over the custody of the child to the first respondent, who must take the child to the appellants' residence once in every 15 days, preferably on a Sunday and permit the appellants to visit the child otherwise at their convenience.

The appeal is disposed of accordingly and the appellants are directed to handover the child to the

6 -

NC: 2025:KHC:28729-DB MFA No. 1466 of 2025

HC-KAR

first respondent on 01.08.2025 . The pending

applications also stand disposed of.

Sd/(D K SINGH) JUDGE

Sd/(B M SHYAM PRASAD) JUDGE

RKA