Report No. 133

Chapter II

Title Present Law

2.1. Judicial orders as to custody.-

The law relating to custody of Hindu minor children is primarily contained in section 6 of the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956, read with section 13 of that Act. Where the court is approached for passing orders as to custody, section 25 of the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890, and a few other provisions of that Act, come into operation.

As is well known, orders relating to custody of minors and a few other matters concerning the welfare of minors also come to be passed when a marriage is dissolved or parties to the marriage are given some other relief under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. Besides this, petitions of Habeas Corpus under Article 226 or Article 32 of the Constitution may also involve questions as to custody. Occasionally, criminal courts may be called upon to issue directions regarding the custody of minor children. However, the present Report primarily focusses itself upon the statutory provisions referred to in the first sub-paragraph of this paragraph.