In Brief
A father sought custody of his 1½-year-old daughter through a habeas corpus petition after she had been in the custody of her maternal relatives (his deceased wife's siblings) for several months. Both parents had been severely ill; the father with tuberculosis meningitis, the mother with cancer. The High Court awarded custody to the father. The maternal relatives appealed, arguing that the child's welfare required her to remain with them. The Supreme Court held that while habeas corpus is an extraordinary remedy, it is maintainable where a child is unlawfully detained by someone without legal custody rights. Although the father as natural guardian has preferential rights under the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, the paramount consideration is the child's welfare. Here, the father was fit, had neither abandoned nor neglected the child, and denying him custody would deprive both child and father of each other's affection, contrary to the child's true interests. The Court affirmed custody to the father with visitation rights for the maternal relatives.
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