BENGALURU: Marriage, motherhood and raising children should not affect a woman’s professional career or tie her down to one place, Karnataka high court has observed in a recent judgement, clearing an ophthalmologist’s relocation to the United Kingdom.
’Motherhood doesn’t confine a woman to single place’
In an order passed on Oct 29, Justice Lalitha Kanneganti disposed of a petition filed by the woman’s husband, who resides in Mumbai. He had challenged the order of a Bengaluru family court that directed him to deliver the original passport of their minor child to his wife and provide consent to obtain a visa to travel to the United Kingdom.He had challenged another order rejecting his request for a change in interim custody of the minor child from the wife’s family to his family, along with other consequential relief.‘Motherhood doesn‘t confine a woman to single place’The wife argued she had been taking care of the child since 2019 when they were thrown out of their residence in Mumbai. According to her, employment in the UK provides a better and more secure financial position, enabling her to provide the child with stable housing, education, healthcare and extracurricular opportunities.“Marriage and motherhood do not require her to remain confined to a particular place,” the judge said, specifying conditions for mutual visits: The mother shall allow regular audio and video calls between the father and the child at least for 20 minutes a day; the father shall get parenting time with the child during school holidays; twice in a year during the child’s holidays, the mother shall send the boy to India to spend 75% of the vacation with the father; the father could go to the United Kingdom to meet the child for 75% of the holidays.
