Writ Petition No. 2749 of 2022 · The High Court
Case Details
- 1 - NC: 2025:KHC:16705 WP No. 2749 of 2022 IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 22ND DAY OF APRIL, 2025 BEFORE THE HON'BLE SMT. JUSTICE LALITHA KANNEGANTI WRIT PETITION NO. 2749 OF 2022 (GM-FC) BETWEEN: 1. MR RITHVIK HEGDE, AGED 40 YEARS, S/O LATE SRI RAMCRISHNA HEGDE, R/AT NO.52, SURAIYA APARTMENTS, POCHKHANWALA ROAD, WORLI, MUMBAI-400030 (BY SRI KAVERI THIMMAIAH, ADVOCATE) AND: 1. DR SHIVANI HEGDE, AGED 37 YEARS, 357/A, 4TH MAIN, SADASHIVA NAGAR, UPPER PALACE ORCHARDS, BENGLURU-560080. …PETITIONER
Legal Reasoning
(BY SRI GANGADHAR GURUMATH, SENIOR COUNSEL ALONG WITH SRI K.S.BHEEMAIAH, ADVOCATE) …RESPONDENT THIS WRIT PETITION IS FILED UNDER ARTICLES 226 AND 227 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA PRAYING TO QUASH THE ORDER DATED 21.12.2021 PASSED ON I.A.3 IN M.C.4475/2020 BY V ADDITIONAL PRINCIPAL JUDGE, FAMILY COURT, BENGALURU, PRODUCED AT ANNEXURE-A AND CONSEQUENTLY ALLOW I.A.3 FILED BY THE PETITIONER HEREIN IN M.C.4475/2020 PENDING ON THE FILE OF V ADDITIONAL PRINCIPAL JUDGE, FAMILY COURT, BENGALURU, SEEKING VISITATION RIGHTS OF HIS SON MASTER REYANSH R HEGDE PRODUCED AT ANNEXURE-C AS SOUGHT THEREIN AND ETC. Digitally signed by SUVARNA T Location: HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA - 2 - NC: 2025:KHC:16705 WP No. 2749 of 2022 THIS PETITION, COMING ON FOR ORDERS, THIS DAY, ORDER WAS MADE THEREIN AS UNDER: CORAM: HON'BLE SMT. JUSTICE LALITHA KANNEGANTI ORAL ORDER The present writ petition is filed by the petitioner-father questioning the order dated 21.12.2021 passed on IA.No.3 in M.C.No.4475/2020 by V Additional Principal Judge, Family Court, Bengaluru. 2. The parties are referred to as the father and mother for the sake of convenience. 3. IA.No.3 filed under Section 26 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (for short, 'the Act') read with Section 10 of the Family court Act for interim-custody/grant of visitation rights of the child on every alternative Fridays at 5.00 p.m. till 5.00 p.m. on following Sunday and first half of Summer vacation, Dasara vacation, Christmas vacation, winter vacation and on festivals as well as on his birthday. 4. This Court had passed the order whereby the father was permitted to exercise visitation rights on alternative Sundays between 11.00 a.m. and 4.00 p.m. till the disposal of the main petition and he was also permitted to make video calls - 3 - NC: 2025:KHC:16705 WP No. 2749 of 2022 on alternate days for about one hour. The mother was directed to handover the child to the father at the specific time mentioned and the father was directed to consider the likes and dislikes of the child while exercising the visitation rights. Further, the father was directed not to give ill-advice about the mother to the child while exercising visitation rights and if necessary, the mother may also join with the father and the child, in the interest of the child. Both the parties are directed to maintain a peaceful atmosphere with the child while exercising the visitation rights. 5. This Court, vide order dated 20.04.2022, permitted the father to exercise visitation right on every Saturday between 9.00 a.m. and 6.00 p.m. and on every Sunday between 11.00 a.m. and 5.00 p.m. and further, directed the father not to take the child out of the jurisdiction of the Bengaluru Metropolitan Area. 6. On 21.09.2022, this Court passed an order of custody of the child to the father at 8.30 a.m. on 24.09.2022 and the father shall give the custody of the child on 29.09.2022 - 4 - NC: 2025:KHC:16705 WP No. 2749 of 2022 forenoon. The father has given an undertaking to pay the arrears of school fees. 7. On 25.04.2024, this Court had permitted the father to take the child to Mumbai from 01.05.2024 to 30.05.2024. Again on 13.12.2024, this Court had directed the mother to handover the custody of the child to the father by 14.12.2024 at 10.00 in the morning and both mother and father shall take the child to the hospital and provide proper treatment to the child. 8. On 24.02.2025, this Court had dismissed I.A.No.2/2024 as not maintainable and respondent-mother is at liberty to file the application before the Family Court and the Family Court shall decide the same expeditiously. Thereafter, the father has filed IA.No.9 and the mother has filed IA.No.11 before the Family Court. In that, the mother wants to take the child to the United Kingdom and she wants the father to fulfill the formalities with regard to obtaining the VISA and other things. The Family Court had passed an order dated 16.04.2025 whereby the Court had directed the father to fulfill all the formalities, thereby facilitating the mother to get the VISA and other formalities. Further, the mother was directed to - 5 - NC: 2025:KHC:16705 WP No. 2749 of 2022 facilitate the child to talk with the father through video or audio calls for about fifteen minutes everyday at about 11:00 p.m. of Indian Standard Time and the mother shall bring the child to Bengaluru once a year during his school summer vacation and handover the interim custody of the child to the father for ten days during such summer vacation. The mother shall not relocate the child to any other foreign Countries without the permission of the Court and she shall furnish the contact details of the child in the United Kingdom to the petition/father. 9. Learned counsel appearing for the father submitted that like it was granted right from the year 2022, the father is entitled for the custody of the child for summer vacation which the Court has failed to grant by way of the impugned order and an order may be passed granting visitation to the father. At that point of time, learned Senior Counsel appearing for the mother had brought to the notice of this Court to the order passed on IA.No.11, which is discussed in the preceding paragraph and it is submitted that with regard to the visitation rights and other things, a final order is passed by the Court and - 6 - NC: 2025:KHC:16705 WP No. 2749 of 2022 nothing survives for consideration in this writ petition and the present writ petition has become infructuous. 10. Having heard the learned counsels on either side, perused the entire material on record. Aggrieved by the order dated 21.12.2021 passed by the Family Court on interlocutory application, the father is before this Court. Right from the year 2022 to till now, various orders are passed by this Court and for every summer vacation or on some other vacation, the matters are moved and the Court is passing the orders one after the other. The pendency of this petition before this Court from the year 2022 to till 2025 is most unwarranted. As the Court is not deciding any of the rights of the parties finally, this Court is deciding with regard to the interim arrangement and it can never be forever. The Court cannot keep this matter pending and before every vacation, the Court cannot pass any order. 11. When IA.No.11 is filed before the Family Court, it is contested by the father and the Court not only permitted the mother to take the child but also fixed the visitation rights of the child during the summer vacation and facilitated the child to - 7 - NC: 2025:KHC:16705 WP No. 2749 of 2022 talk with the father through audio/video calls for about fifteen minutes and other things. In view of the subsequent order that is passed, in the considered opinion of this Court, no further orders need to be passed in the writ petition of the year 2022 and virtually it has just become infructuous. 12. Then coming to the submission that the father is entitled to the summer vacation that has been granted by the Court, it is for the father to assail the said order. However, this Court exercising the parens patriae jurisdiction is conscious of the welfare of the child as well as the rights and duties of the parents towards the minor child. 13. Considering the same as in IA.No.11, the Court had already granted the visitation rights for ten (10) days during the summer vacation to the father. Under the facts and circumstances, this Court is directed the mother to handover the custody of the child for ten (10) days before leaving the Country and after the mother shall indicate the date when she is going to give the custody for ten days within five days from the receipt of a copy of this order. - 8 - NC: 2025:KHC:16705 WP No. 2749 of 2022
Decision
14. Accordingly, the writ petition is disposed of. SD/- (LALITHA KANNEGANTI) JUDGE CPN List No.: 1 Sl No.: 16