New Delhi: Delhi High Court has agreed to examine a plea seeking standard guidelines for family courts while deciding child custody, visitation rights and shared parenting in matrimonial disputes. A bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyay and Justice Tejjas Karia asked the petitioner organisations to submit a representation to the high court administration within two weeks. The court said that once the representation is received, the registrar general will place it before the appropriate authority, which will consider the request for a policy after consulting relevant stakeholders. The PIL, filed by Ayushman Initiative for Child Rights and Ekam Nyaay Foundation, argued that the absence of uniform norms often leads to inconsistent orders in custody and visitation cases. The petitioners said that “Child Access and Custody Guidelines along with a Parenting Plan” would help streamline judicial decisions and reduce conflict between parents. Advocate Manav Gupta, appearing for the petitioners, submitted that the High Courts of Calcutta and Karnataka have already framed such guidelines. A similar framework in Delhi, he said, would ensure uniformity across district courts handling matrimonial and custody matters. The PIL argued that inconsistent decisions burden the non-custodial parent and called for uniform guidelines to support co-parenting and protect children from emotional harm.
