‘Child Welfare Paramount’: Bombay HC Denies Interim Custody Of 11-Year-Old Girl To Biological Parents

Mumbai, September 15, 2026: The Bombay High Court has refused to hand over the interim custody of an 11-year-old girl to her biological parents, observing that shifting her after nearly a decade could seriously disturb her emotional well-being and stability.

Justice NJ Jamadar noted that the child has been living with the respondent and his wife since she was barely two months old and considers them her parents. The court also took note of the girl’s clear preference to continue living with the couple.

“The child ‘Y’ has made her preference explicitly clear,” the court observed while dismissing a petition filed by the biological parents seeking her interim custody.

Child’s Emotional Well-Being

The court said the girl had been with the respondent for almost 10 years and had become comfortable in his company and that of his wife. It noted that an abrupt transfer could disrupt her routine and stability and pose an “imminent risk” to her psychological well-being.

The biological parents had approached the High Court challenging the refusal of the District Court, Kalyan, to grant them interim custody.

The respondent, however, claimed that the child had been given to him and his wife in adoption in January 2015. The biological parents disputed the claim and maintained that the child had only been entrusted to the couple.

Adoption Claim To Be Examined

The High Court said the rival claims, including whether the child was legally given in adoption, would have to be examined by the District Court after evidence is led.

The court stressed that the welfare of the child was the paramount consideration while deciding custody. It noted that the girl had been in the respondent’s custody since infancy and that the arrangement had continued without objection for several years.

“None of the observations in this order… shall influence the trial Court,” Justice Jamadar clarified, making it clear that the High Court’s findings were limited to the issue of interim custody.

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Parents Granted Visitation

The High Court directed the District Judge, Kalyan, to hear and decide the main custody application as expeditiously as possible, preferably within six months.

At the same time, the court ensured that the biological parents would continue to have access to the child. It directed that they be allowed to meet her every Friday and Saturday for three hours at a place to be decided by the District Judge.

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