Supreme Court lets Indian mother move children to UK after overturning custody order

In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court of India overturned a lower-court custody order that had awarded sole guardianship to the children’s father. The mother, an engineering professor with a Ph.D., was cleared to relocate the siblings to the United Kingdom, where she will teach at the University of Hull and enroll them in school. Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta praised her persistent job changes to ensure financial security, contrasting the father’s preoccupation with protracted litigation.

The court also noted a pending Protection of Children from Sexual Offences case against the father after allegations of abuse by the son. Counselors’ reports showing the children’s discomfort during visits further tipped the balance. Additionally, the bench dismissed the argument that moving abroad would sever the children’s Bengali cultural roots and clarified that the father’s parents’ pension income could not be counted toward his financial capacity.