Delhi High Court gives child’s custody to father, citing mother’s neglect

The Delhi High Court has upheld a family court order granting custody of a four-year-old boy to his father, observing that while adultery alone cannot decide custody, it becomes relevant when accompanied by neglect and abandonment of parental duties.

A Bench of Justice Anil Kshetarpal and Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar said the mother’s alleged relationship outside marriage was not the main reason for the family court’s decision, but, when seen alongside her repeated neglect and abandonment of the child, justified the order.

“The mere allegation or even proof of an adulterous liaison, cannot singularly constitute the determinative ground for grant or denial of custody of the child, yet when such conduct is viewed in conjunction with the contemporaneous acts of deliberate neglect and the conscious abdication of maternal obligations, the cumulative effect thereof justifies the course adopted by the learned family court,” the Court said.

The couple, who married in February 2020, has a son born in January 2021. Following matrimonial discord, the two began living separately from October 2023.

The father approached the family court in 2023, alleging that the mother had on several occasions left the matrimonial home without informing anyone, leaving the child unattended, and that she was maintaining an extramarital relationship which aggravated the dispute.

In support of his plea, the father produced photographs allegedly showing the minor child sleeping alone on a pull cart in an open area, contending that the mother’s conduct endangered the child’s welfare.

On July 8, 2025, the family court granted interim custody of the boy to the father, allowing the mother limited visitation every Sunday between 2.00 p.m. and 4.00 p.m. at the children’s room in Tis Hazari Courts.

Challenging this order, the mother argued before the High Court that circumstances within the matrimonial household forced her to live separately and that her stay with another person was out of compulsion, not choice. She maintained that her relationship status should not affect her right to custody.

The Court, however, relied on a report submitted by the Station House Officer (SHO) of the local police station, which noted that the mother had displayed “habitual neglect and irresponsible abandonment” of the child for nearly two years, posing a risk to the child’s welfare.

The court, in its October 8 judgment, concluded, “the custody of the minor would be best secured in the care of the Respondent-Father.”