The Bombay High Court has directed a woman to allow visitation access of her two children to her estranged husband through video conferencing during lockdown.
The order was issued after the man filed a contempt petition complaining that the woman was refusing him visitation rights of their two children, aged 5 and 2 years, as directed by the magistrate’s court. The man submitted that while previously he was denied visitation on one pretext or the other, during lockdown he was denied visitation on the grounds of Covid-19 pandemic, and urged the court to pass direction that he be allowed to meet his children through video conferencing.
A bench comprising of Justice SC Gupte while hearing an interim application in a contempt petition filed by a Pune-based man was informed by advocate Aditi Bhat that his wife along with their two minor children — a son and daughter — have been living with her parents since the couple separated. The judicial magistrate first class in the Pune Cantonment, in an order, had directed the woman to give visitation rights to the man twice a week for two hours each and three hours on days of festival.
However, despite the order the woman had refused visitation rights, following which the contempt petition was filed for not complying with the magistrate’s order.
Bhat further submitted that as Pune was severely affected by Covid-19, it was not feasible for the man to meet his children physically, and asked the court to direct the woman to allow him to meet his children through video conferencing.
Read also : ‘Can COVID-19 Treatment Cost At Pvt Hospitals Be Capped?’, SC Asks Centre
The woman’s advocate Bhuwan Jayant, however, justified her stand saying the man was abusive and that she did not allow him to meet the children for their safety.
After hearing the submissions the bench observed, “Be that as it may, it is a matter of fact that today there is an order of a competent court giving visitation rights to petitioner. It is also a matter of fact that due to the difficult situation prevailing in the state and particularly in Pune, which is seriously affected by the present Covid-19 pandemic, physical access cannot be had as of now.”
In light of this, the court directed the woman to allow the man to meet the children twice a week through video internet/phone access and disposed of the interim application.
Read also : COVID-19: Ensure prisons don’t turn into a fertile ground for Virus
Source Link
