The Supreme Court on Friday issued a bailable warrant against an Egyptian citizen Khaled Kamal Hussein Mohamed Kassem, for violating custodial orders of his son passed by the Bombay High Court.
The bench comprising Justices DY Chandrachud and MR Shah were hearing an appeal against the Bombay High Court order which had granted the interim custody of a minor boy named Kian to his father Kassem.
The appeal has been filed by the maternal aunt and maternal grandmother of the child. The father had filed a habeas corpus plea before the Bombay High court alleging that the petitioners had illegal custody of his child Kian. The Court passed an order in favour of the father to maintain the custody of child at Pune preferably in the vicinity nearby the house of petitioners for eight weeks from the date of the order made.
The High Court had further directed that any of the petitioners can stay with the father and child for the prescribed period of eight weeks after that the father would be at liberty to take the child along with him to his place of work at Abu Dhabi. The Court had further directed the father to bring the child to Pune after every 2 and ½ months for at least one week.
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As per the facts, the child was born on February 3rd, 2019 at Pune and the mother of the child died soon after the child was born. Since the death of the mother of the child, he lived with his maternal aunt and maternal grandmother. Later, the Bombay High Court granted custody of the child to his father with some conditions. Disobeying the court’s order, not to leave India before March 27, 2020, he fled to Egypt with his child.
The Counsel on behalf of the petitioner argued that Kassem was not responding to the calls made or mails sent to him.
According to the petitioner, when she was living with the child and respondent as per the direction of the High Court, the behaviour of Kassem was not good towards the child as well as her. Hence the petitioner requested the Court to make it possible to see or visit the child as they haven’t seen the child since a month.
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The bench has requested the Indian Embassy to use their good offices to provide a platform and help the petitioners to see the minor child through video conferencing.
The Court also condemned the Counsel appearing for the respondent for not being available at the hearings and listed the matter for next hearing on April 5, 2021.