In a significant ruling, the Bombay High Court (Nagpur Bench) has ruled that a man who took away his minor child from his estranged wife's custody cannot be booked for kidnapping in the absence of a prohibition order by a competent court.In a .
The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court said that in the absence of any prohibition by order of any court, the father was a lawful guardian along with the mother and hence he cannot be booked for taking away his own minor child from the custody of the mother.
The Bombay High Court recently held that a father cannot be held guilty of kidnapping for taking his minor child away from the mother unless there is an order of a competent court preventing him from.
The bench quashed the FIR (first information report) registered against the man, on a complaint by his estranged wife, with the Amravati police for allegedly kidnapping their three-year-old son on March 29, 2023, noting that continuation of such prosecution would amount to abuse of process of the court
The bench referred to the definition of the natural guardian under the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act of 1956 and pointed out that, in the absence of any court order to the contrary, the father is considered the natural guardian of a minor