Adopt Calcutta high court child custody norms for now: Karnataka high court | Bengaluru News
Bengaluru: As an interim measure, a division bench of Karnataka high court directed the adoption of child custody and access guidelines framed and enforced by Calcutta HC until state-specific rules are formulated.“We clarify that the said guidelines shall be applied till rules are made by the rulemaking committee and approved in accordance with law,” said the bench, headed by Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru, and listed the next hearing for March 13, 2026. The order was passed by the bench in a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) registered in 2023 on the issue of mental health of children of estranged parents. A child rights NGO, Ayushman Initiative for Child Rights (AIFCR), intervened in the PIL and recommended that Karnataka adopt Calcutta high court’s Child Access and Custody Guidelines along with Parenting Plan 2025, developed with inputs from multiple stakeholders. Accepting the recommendation, the division bench directed the registrar-general to circulate these guidelines to all district judges, family courts and magistrates in the state exercising jurisdiction in matters relating to Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005.
