Orissa HC grants visitation rights to father & grandparents to meet minor child
Bhubaneswar, Oct 31 (UNI) The Orissa High Court has granted visitation rights to a man and his parents to meet his one-and-a-half-year-old son, currently under the maternal care and custody of his estranged wife.
Earlier the Cuttack family court had rejected his plea to meet the child.
The petitioner who moved the high court is entangled in multiple cases, including dowry torture, domestic violence and a divorce petition filed by his estranged wife.
The high court allowed the writ petition and granted visitation rights to the husband, along with his parents to meet his minor son twice a month in the high court mediation centre in the presence of a female mediator between 11.00 A.M to 1.00 pm.
It also ordered that the petitioner, along with his parents, can have video conferencing through WhatsApp calling on every 2nd and 4th Saturdays and Sundays between 6-7 pm.
It also directed that during physical meetings at High Court mediation centre, the father and his parents can give gifts to their son/grandson.
It also ordered that, besides the above dates, the petitioner and his parents can meet his child on his birthdays.
For having a video conferencing facility, the court directed the petitioner to provide an Android mobile phone with a dedicated SIM card to his estranged wife for making video calls.
The court also held that for the welfare of a child, the presence of grandparents is equally important like the natural father so that the child’s growth is duly taken care of.
The court further held that in a matrimonial dispute where the spouses are fighting various types of litigation among themselves even then neither of the spouses can be denied visitation rights until and unless the situation so warrants.
