New Delhi: The Delhi Court observed that committing adultery does not make a parent incompetent, and adultery alone is no determining factor to deny a parent their child's custody, PTI reported
The court said that factors for divorce proceedings and custody matters could be co-related but are mutually exclusive.
"'Adulterous spouse' is not equivalent to 'incompetent parent'. Points for consideration in divorce proceedings and custody matters may be co-related but are always mutually exclusive. Any adulterous relationship or extramarital affair of either spouse cannot be the sole determining factor to deny custody of a child unless it is proved that the adulterous relationship in itself is pernicious/ detrimental/ injurious to the welfare of the child," the bench of Suresh Kumar Kait and Neena Bansal Krishna said.
The court ruled just an instance of adultery is not enough, but it must be proved that the adulterous acts are affecting the child's welfare.
In the case of a married couple, the high court was hearing their cross-petition challenging a family court order which granted them joint custody of their minor daughters.
The woman alleged that her husband abandoned her and their children and left for some ashram. The man said that her guardianship petition was to counter his divorce petition as well as the criminal complaint he filed against her over alleging cruelty and adultery.
The man alleged that the woman did not take good care of their children but spent most of her time and energy on her illicit relationship.
The court noted that there is proof that the woman is having an extramarital affair, but that alone could not make her an incompetent parent.