The Character Of A Woman Will Not Be Decided By Jeans-t-Shirt, Chhattisgarh High Court Handed Over The Custody Of The Child To The Mother

Chhattisgarh, 6th May 2022: The Chhattisgarh High Court has ordered the custody of a 14-year-old child to be handed over to the mother instead of the father. It has also been said that it is wrong to judge the character of a woman on the basis of wearing Jeans-t-Shirt.

The Division Bench of the High Court while hearing the matter said that the character certificate given by some members of the society may be of ostrich mentality. The division of the High Court Justice Gautam Bhaduri and Justice Sanjay S Aggarwal heard the matter. The court only gave the father the right to meet the child.

This order was given by the Family Court, the father filed an application under Section 25 of the Guardians Act, 1890, seeking protection of the child. The father had argued in the application given in the family court that the dress of the woman is also not right. The husband also alleged in the application to the family court that the wife was in an illicit relationship. She also consumes alcohol, gutka, cigarette. According to the husband, if the child is kept in her custody, then there will be a bad effect on the child’s mind. On this basis, the family court gave custody of the child to the father.

This order of the family court was challenged by the mother of the child in the High Court. The woman’s counsel argued that the family court order was based only on the statement of a third person. Apart from the oral statements, there is nothing on record to establish the fact and to infer the character of the wife.

Perusing the evidence given by the witnesses from both the sides, the High Court observed that the evidence presented by the father was based on his own views and those of others. In this regard, the Court specifically noted that if a woman is required to take up a job, she must be moving from one place to another for livelihood. Due to the mere fact that she has been commuting in a car with a man in public, it cannot be inferred that she has lost her chastity.

While commenting on the allegation of consumption of alcohol and smoking etc., the Court observed that it is important to set a boundary line when the character of a woman is attacked. The statement of the plaintiff’s witnesses shows that she wears jeans and t-shirt as a woman and is in contact with a male member.

In such a situation, it is wrong to assess the character. It is feared that if such wrong imagery is given importance then there will be a long uphill battle to protect the rights and freedoms of women. If the whole point was to show that the character of the wife would adversely affect the child, the evidence would have to be much more convincing.