Patna: In a significant ruling on the guardianship of a minor child, the Patna high court has held that a family court cannot decide guardianship without first determining which environment would be most suitable for the child.A division bench of justices Nani Tagia and Vikash Kumar passed the order on July 9 while allowing an appeal filed by Sana Azim and others. A copy of the judgment became available on Friday.Senior advocate Amit Srivastava, appearing for Sana, told the court that she had married the respondent under Muslim customs and that their son, Daniyal, was born in 2019. Following marital discord, the child had been living with his mother and maternal grandparents.In 2022, Daniyal’s father moved the Patna family court seeking guardianship and custody. On April 16 this year, the family court declared him the child’s guardian.Challenging the order, Amit argued that the court had failed to consider factors such as the child’s age, sex and religion while deciding guardianship. He also referred to the Muslim law of Hizamat, under which custody of a boy below seven years ordinarily remains with the mother.Setting aside the family court’s order, the high court sent the case back for a fresh hearing from July 20.
