In Brief
A mother sought to retain custody of her three-year-old daughter born in the USA after she unlawfully removed her from America to India, violating a USA court order. The Supreme Court held that a writ of habeas corpus is maintainable for child custody, but courts cannot force an adult to live abroad. While the child's tender age favored the mother, her USA citizenship, the wife's violation of the foreign court's orders, and better facilities in the USA favored returning the child there. The Court gave the mother the option to voluntarily return to the USA with her daughter, with the father meeting expenses; alternatively, the father would have custody with the mother granted extensive video-call contact rights (daily on weekdays, more on weekends) and the child visiting India twice yearly.
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