Fri Mar 21 18:48:32 UTC 2025: ## Karnataka High Court Orders 16-Year-Old Boy’s Return to Parents
**Bengaluru, March 22, 2025** – The Karnataka High Court has ruled in favor of a 16-year-old boy’s parents, ordering the return of their son from the custody of his paternal grandmother and aunts. The aunts had claimed permanent guardianship, alleging neglect by the parents. However, the court found that the parents had left the boy with the aunts, who are unmarried, as a companion.
The family court had initially granted temporary custody to the grandmother and aunts following a dispute between the parents and aunts that stemmed from a tutoring arrangement and a property disagreement in 2015. This led to the aunts filing a suit for guardianship and seeking financial support from the parents in 2018.
The High Court, citing the “best interest of the child” principle, overturned the family court’s decision. The judges noted that the ongoing dispute had negatively impacted the boy’s upbringing, preventing a natural relationship with his parents and younger sibling. While the boy expressed comfort with his aunts, the court emphasized that this was due to prolonged living arrangements, not a preference over his parents.
The court rejected the aunts’ claims of the parents’ financial insufficiency, pointing to the father’s substantial income and assets, including a pension from his previous employment as a deputy engineer. The boy’s custody will be transferred to his parents after the current academic session, starting May 1st. The aunts and grandmother will be granted visitation rights twice a month.
First Piper 