In Brief
A mother brought her two young US-citizen children to India on a visit in 2016 and refused to return them to their father in Connecticut. The father sought their return through habeas corpus and guardianship proceedings. The Supreme Court found Indian courts lacked jurisdiction as both children ordinarily reside in the USA and are US citizens. Emphasizing the children's best interests through joint parenting, the Court (with both parties' agreement) directed the mother to return to the USA with the children within two weeks of obtaining passports, with the father providing housing, monthly expenses (~$8,000), school access, and weekend visitation rights for 12 months. The mother agreed to withdraw parallel divorce proceedings in India.
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