A district court in Anantnag recently rejected a father's plea for custody and visitation rights, advising him to rebuild his relationship with his son through love rather than legal action.

The father had asked the court to enforce a custody agreement from October 29, 2024 and also sought to change the child’s school. The child’s mother opposed the plea, saying the agreement was made without the child’s consent.

During a court interaction, the 10 years old boy, studying in class 3, refused to meet or go with his father.

Principal District Judge Tahir Khurshid Raina said that a child is not a thing to be passed between parents for ego satisfaction. He noted that the father’s aggressive legal moves only widened the emotional gap with his son.

The court cannot force a child to meet a parent against his will, the judge said. He also appreciated the mother for trying to convince the child to meet his father.

“Her words must match with the action as is required in this very piquant situation. For her to sustain the challenge of single parenting will be a daunting task. Let the father also share his own responsibility and this may bring a sense of relief in her already turbulent life.” the court remarked. .

During this period of separation, the child, born out of wedlock, grew in the custody of the mother, with apparently no genuine efforts made by the father to bring him back in his company. Obviously, the child has grown with no idea about the father in his life, and the father is now belatedly attempting through the process of court, to bring him back into his custody and company.

“Here, the child is quite mature who is very strongly expressing his own choice in the context of the custody/visitation rights of the father and change of his school etc. as desired and prayed by his father before this court.”

“Despite the glaring fact that the child/ward is in complete denial to meet his father, the father remains insistent on enforcing the agreement. Can this court afford to go against the will of the ward? The answer is “big No”. Even the visitation rights of the father are subject to the will of the child. this court as a “parens patriae” of the child has a message for the petitioner-father. Don’t try winning the child by litigation; win him by your patience and unconditional love for him. Give love a chance over litigation is the brief but a perfect message for the petitioner. Let your child grows in the lap and love of the mother with a sincere blend of unilateral, unconditional, un-annoying and un-disturbing love and care from you as the father. Remember, “father is so much more than just a relation. It means sacrifices, tough decisions, trust and a life time of love given to his kids.”the court noted.

The court dismissed the father's petitions and advised him to win his child’s trust and affection through care and emotional connection, not through court orders.

It ended with a hopeful message that the family might reunite someday.

“Last but not the least, this court wishes the broken family to unite soon, and the child to become a bridge between his divided parents to lead them finally to live a loving and a blissful life together, and the family to have a happy life in a happy home. Let the child grows and bloom to his fullest, and finally, to achieve his aim-to be a “JUDGE.”