Pranav Shukla
The Kerala High Court 8 November 2024, overturned a decision that had awarded custody of an infant to the father over the estranged mother. The court emphasized that the alleged postpartum depression experienced by the mother cannot be the sole reason for permanently denying her custody of the child.
The High Court noted that the family court’s ruling relied on outdated medical records from February 2023, which stated that the mother had been experiencing postpartum depression.
The Division Bench, comprising Justices Devan Ramachandran and MB Snehalatha, stressed that additional investigation should have been conducted to determine whether the mother continued to suffer from such a condition.
“The claim that the petitioner-wife continues to suffer from postpartum depression and is unwilling to care for the child must be proven through clear and reliable evidence. However, in our strong opinion, the Family Court could not have made such a determination, as it did in the Ext.P8 order, solely based on the earlier records,” the Court said.
The High Court ultimately determined that the family court placed excessive reliance on outdated and inadequate medical evidence to declare the petitioner-mother unfit to care for the child.
“It is clear that the records date back to February 2023, shortly after the petitioner gave birth to the child. They merely indicate that she was experiencing postpartum depression at that time, which may have caused some detachment from the baby,” the Court noted.