A bench of Calcutta High court was hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by the child's father, a Canadian citizen of Indian origin, seeking custody of his daughter.
The Calcutta High Court, recently, expressed deep concern over the future of a five-year-old child of an estranged Indian-Canadian couple, directing the parents to resolve their conflict through mutual discussion.
The bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Mohammad Shabbar Rashidi was hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by the child’s father, a Canadian citizen of Indian origin, seeking custody of his daughter. The mother, a Kolkata resident, had left Canada with the child in January 2025, citing mental harassment and extramarital affair by the husband.
“We have no interest in the conflict between the parents. We are concerned about the child’s future. A child’s future cannot be ruined because of the conflict between parents,” Justice Basak observed.
In 2014, a Kolkata woman married a Canadian citizen of Indian origin and they had a daughter in 2020 in Canada, who is now five years old and a Canadian citizen. The child was admitted to a reputed school in Canada in 2024. However, soon after marital issues arose, with the woman alleging mental harassment and infidelity by her husband. In January 2025, she left Canada with their daughter, returning to Kolkata without informing her husband. The husband has filed a divorce case in a Canadian court and is seeking custody of their daughter. The Canadian court had ordered the woman and child to return to Canada by September 1, which she has not complied with.
During the hearing, Justices Basak and Rashidi summoned the woman and spoke to her privately. They then asked her to call her husband from the courtroom, seeking clarity on when he would come to India to discuss and resolve the issue. The husband’s counsel said it would take over a month for him to arrive in Kolkata.
The court verbally observed that the husband must give an undertaking to the Canadian court and the Calcutta HC, ensuring arrangements for the wife and child to live separately in Canada.
While the court observed that the child should return to Canada, it was equally concerned about the well being of the mother and the child. The bench noted: “Look forward, we are not looking back. Parents must talk to each other directly – not just via email. Let them have a video call with their child.”
The court told the husband’s counsel, “If you want a divorce, spell out the terms – finances, household, maintenance for the mother and child, litigation costs, her stay. The husband has a mortgage that has to be paid by the husband, divorce should be withdrawn by the husband in Canada – correspondingly she will withdraw her proceedings in India as well.”
The High Court further directed: Husband to bear financial expenses for wife and child; husband can’t enter residence without wife’s permission; limited child meetups with wife’s permission; to live in Canada, a property has to be purchased and its monthly EMI has to be borne by the husband; the husband will consider withdrawing the divorce case in the Canadian court. The court further observed, “Tell the husband to call her up everyday. Tell the wife to indicate a time. Let them speak unhindered. Let them do a video call so that the child can also participate in the communication.”
The High Court has asked both parties to inform the court about their decision in January, hoping for a resolution through negotiations.