In Brief
After a bitter matrimonial dispute between parents based in the UK, the child Vaishali (aged 15) remained in her father's custody when he brought her to India in 2009. The High Court granted the mother's habeas corpus petition, directing custody be given to her. The Supreme Court set aside this order, holding that the child's welfare lay with her father. Having achieved sufficient maturity, Vaishali unequivocally expressed her desire to stay with her father and refuse to relocate to the UK. Though given extended supervised opportunities to bond with her mother, she remained unmoved. The Court, exercising parens patriae jurisdiction, prioritized the mature child's clearly expressed wishes and best interests over abstract maternal preference principles.
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