Surat businessman moves family court seeking custody of children
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A Jain man on Tuesday filed a plea in Surat's family court, demanding that his seven-year-old daughter, who lives with his estranged wife, not be initiated into'monkhood'.
Samir Shah, a share market dealer, also asked the court for custody of his two children, a girl and a five-year-old son, stating that he "wanted to educate them to secure their future".
As per the petitioner, Shah, a resident of Adajan married the respondent in 2012, and they have two children. The couple have been living separately since 2024, Indian Express reported.
He had discussed the issue of their daughter embracing monkhood with his wife and agreed that the girl should become a monk after attaining maturity, the petition said. But his wife insisted that the child take `diksha' (undergo initiation as a monk) at a mass ceremony in Mumbai in February 2026, it claimed, PTI reported.
In April 2024, his wife left home with their two children and went to stay with her parents, saying she would return only if he agreed to their daughter's `diksha', the petition alleged. Later she insisted on going ahead with the ceremony whether he agreed or not, it said.
Shah, in an application filed in Judge S V Mansuri's family court, stated that he learnt of the diksha (initiation) event scheduled for February 2026 from a Jain community WhatsApp group, where he discovered his daughter's name among the participants.
Being only seven years old, his daughter cannot take such a decision on her own, the petitioner said.
His wife used to take the daughter to religious gatherings, and once left her alone with a `guru' at his Ahmedabad ashram without his consent, the man claimed.
Later, on learning that his wife had left the child at the ashram of a Jain monk in Mumbai, he went to meet the child but was turned back, the petition claimed.
He should be appointed the girl's legal guardian to protect her interests, said the plea filed under the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 Section 7 (empowers a court to make orders regarding a minor’s guardianship if it is determined to be in the minor’s welfare), and Section 24 (Duties of a guardian of the person, stating they are responsible for the ward’s custody, support, health, education, and must fulfill other requirements under the law applicable to
the ward).