P&H: Directs grandparents to hand over six-year-old girl to mother

punjab-haryana
⚖️ Order Date: 15 Oct 2026
Headnotes

(i) Constitution of India, Article 226 — Habeas corpus — Custody of minor — Existence of an alternative remedy does not, by itself, foreclose exercise of extraordinary jurisdiction of Court where facts and circumstances justify intervention. (Para 9)

(ii) Custody of minor — Dispute with regard to custody of a minor child cannot be decided solely on basis of status of either parent or relative — Safety of minor child, nature of relationship between child and claimant(s) and ability of the proposed custodian...

(ii) Custody of minor — Age of child 6.5 years — Father went to Kuwait for employment in 2017 and subsequently settled there —Petitioner-mother not suffering from any economic deprivation, nothing having been brought forth at end of the private respondents that petitioner-mother will not be...


Facts of the Case

P&H: Directs grandparents to hand over six-year-old girl to mother

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the paternal relatives of a six-year-old girl to hand over her custody to her mother, Amandeep Kaur. Justice Sumeet Goel held that, on the facts before the Court, the child’s welfare favoured temporary custody with her mother.

Kaur approached the High Court seeking a habeas corpus direction, alleging that her in-laws had taken the child when she left the matrimonial home in October 2025 and had refused to return her. She said that her efforts to secure the child’s return, including approaching the police and convening a panchayat, had not succeeded.

The...

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