Ahmedabad: A doctor working at a govt hospital has approached Gujarat High Court seeking custody of his five-year-old daughter, alleging that his estranged wife failed to return the child after being granted temporary custody during the summer vacation by a Maharashtra court.The doctor, through a habeas corpus petition, alleged that the woman instead lodged an FIR against him and his family members for alleged harassment, two days before she was required to hand over the child to him.According to the case details, the couple married in 2019 and have two children. Following matrimonial disputes, the wife, who was pregnant with her second child at the time, left her matrimonial home in Sep 2024, leaving the daughter with her husband.Since then, the couple has been involved in multiple litigations in Ahmedabad as well as the woman’s hometown of Karad in Maharashtra. The dispute over the child’s custody also reached the Supreme Court.Eventually, a Maharashtra court granted the woman temporary custody of the daughter for eight days during the summer vacation, while directing her to return the child to the father on May 31.However, two days before the scheduled handover, the woman filed an FIR against the doctor and his family members. The child was not returned to the father, prompting him to approach Gujarat HC, alleging that his wife was keeping the child in illegal custody in violation of court order.During Friday’s hearing, the judges questioned whether the Gujarat HC had jurisdiction to entertain the petition since the interim custody order was passed by a Maharashtra court.The doctor’s counsel submitted that the alleged illegality arose from non-compliance with a judicial order and argued that the HC could exercise its jurisdiction and direct the woman to return custody of the child.The HC asked the govt lawyer to obtain instructions from the concerned authorities on the issue of jurisdiction and posted the matter for further hearing on Aug 25.
