Days after Surat court halts 7-year-old’s initiation into Jain monkhood, her parents agree to reunite

All’s well that ends well. Barely 10 days after the court halted the diksha ceremony of a seven-year-old girl, her parents, who were separated for a year, have agreed to a reunion to save their marriage before the Family Court in Surat. One of the conditions in the compromise formula is that if their daughter’s initiation into monkhood takes place in future, consent of both parents is needed and there should be “no pressure tactics” for the same.

On Friday, both parties (the girl’s mother and father) appeared before Judge S V Mansuri of the Family Court with a compromise formula, subject to certain conditions. The court accepted the conditions, after which the husband and wife embraced outside the courtroom.

The couple had been engaged in a legal dispute over their separation, the custody of their children, and their elder daughter’s proposed initiation into Jain diksha at a ceremony scheduled to be held in Mumbai in February.

Under the compromise formula, both the petitioner (father) and the respondent (mother) will withdraw all pending applications from the court and the Surat police.

On Friday, both the children met their father, and sweets were distributed to those present at the family court complex. Sweets were also distributed to the lawyers of both parties and relatives who were present in the court complex.

The document submitted to the court said, “Both parties should not repeat old mistakes and harass each other. They should live together happily. Both of them should be respectful of each other.”

The document further states, “No initiation into monkhood of the girl should take place as mentioned in the earlier affidavit submitted by both parties to the court. They should strictly adhere to it. In the future, if the initiation into monkhood of their daughter takes place, the consent of both parties – the father and mother – should be obtained. No pressure tactics should be used.”

“If a quarrel again erupts between them, they should mutually sort it out,” the document reads.

“The father (petitioner) should withdraw the application filed with the family court to get custody of the daughter. The pending application with the Child Welfare Committee should be withdrawn. The mother should withdraw the application submitted with the Surat police commissioner against her husband,” the document said.

“The witnesses in the compromising formula are also responsible if something goes wrong with the couple. If any of the parties violates the compromising conditions, the other party can file a legal complaint against the other,” it adds.

Speaking to The Indian Express, the parents expressed happiness over the happy ending.

The girl’s mother said, “We are happy that we are reunited. We have given an assurance to the court that we will not repeat old mistakes and live a happy life. Both my children are excited as well…they were missing their father.”

She said that nobody has pressured her on reaching a compromise. “The decision to work on a compromise formula was taken in a meeting convened by our community religious priest and other leaders with our family members and relatives, a few days ago. We mutually agreed on it for the better future of our children,” she said.

“After ‘Kamurta’ (the period considered inauspicious which ends January 14 this year), I will visit my in-laws’ place, and we will start staying together. Meanwhile, my husband can come to my house and see the children and me. We can even go out and spend time together with our children,” she says.

The father, a share market trader by profession, said that “he was alone for a long time” and that “such a reunion cannot be described in words.”

“I am happy now. We are also thankful to the court. I was alone for a long time, and now I will get my lost family, and such a reunion cannot be described in words. I can also concentrate on my business now,” he says.

The couple, both residents of Surat, married as per Jain rituals on June 29, 2012. They have two children, a 7-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy. The wife left her in-laws’ place with her two children and started staying with her parents and elder brother in 2024.

Meanwhile, the mother sent her minor daughter under the charge of a Jain spiritual leader for a year, at the end of which she agreed to have her daughter enter monastic life at an upcoming event to be held in Mumbai from February 4 to 8, 2026.

When the father learnt about this from an “invitation card in one of the messages in the Jain community WhatsApp group” of Surat, he reportedly tried to meet his wife to stop it, but she remained adamant, he had told The Indian Express earlier.

He then moved an application before the family court to stop the Diksha ceremony of his daughter, under The Guardian and Wards Act 1890 Section 7 (empowers a court to make orders regarding a minor’s guardianship if it is determined to be in the minor’s welfare), and Section 24 (Duties of a guardian of the person, stating they are responsible for the ward’s custody, support, health, education, and must fulfill other requirements under the law applicable to the ward.)

In his application, he also stated that he is financially sound and can provide for his wife and children. “My daughter is a minor and taking Diksha will snatch her better future. If such a Diksha ceremony takes place, the bright future of my daughter will be snatched away. A person can serve the community not only by becoming a religious priest but also by becoming a lawyer, doctor, engineer, or bureaucrat, etc,” he said in his application.

On December 22, Surat family court Judge S V Mansuri passed an order halting the Diksha ceremony of the girl on the petition of her father. The order came after the mother (respondent) had submitted an undertaking that her daughter would not participate in the diksha ceremony to be held in Mumbai on February 8, 2026.