Divorce: Panel for joint custody of kids

 Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, May 23 

The Law Commission has suggested legal changes to protect children from the trauma of their parents’ divorce by having an option for joint custody, instead of handing them over either to the mother or the father.

The change was necessary to bring the existing laws on custody in tune with modern social considerations in the interest of kids, the panel said in its 257th report submitted to the Law Ministry.

“Custody battles are among the most fiercely fought in courts because there is no agreement or understanding about what constitutes the welfare of the child. As a result, it is impossible to ensure that the interests of the child are actually protected,” the commission noted.

At present, courts granted custody of kids to one of the parents, presuming that it was for their welfare and rarely considered the option of joint custody arrangements. Further, the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act 1956 did not treat the mother on an equal footing with the father as the natural guardian of her child, it pointed out. There was need for removing the preference for the father as the natural guardian under Hindu laws and granting equal legal status to both the parents in the matter of guardianship and custody, the panel said.