Child Custody

Below five-year-old child / children’s custody is assigned to mother generally for natural reasons of nourishment and care.
Every parent has an urge to get custody of child due to affection and love that they have, yet the custody depends on age of child, whom does court assign the custody to, and in some cases when children are above 12 or 13 years of age, opinion of children is also taken into account by court to pass the custody order. Please refer this section Interim custody of child.
During custody of child with a parent during a divorce case, if the parent who has custody is not able to sustain monthly expenses of child with her own earnings, then she can get monthly maintenance for child from court. The amount will be decided by the court depending on the financial wellbeing of the parents and the monthly expenses required for child during divorce case. Please refer this section Interim Maintenance for Child.
During proceedings if the custody of the child is with one parent, then the other parent will have visitation rights, the intervals, occasion, duration, and location will be decided by the court. Please refer this section for visitation rights.
Not only during divorce case, a child is also entitled to get maintenance after divorce proceedings as well and it will be given to the parent with custody in case of less earning potential. It will be part of judgment and decree. Please refer this section Maintenance of child in custody.

Applicable laws for child custody under various laws in India:

The applicable laws are as follows;

1. Section 26 of the Hindu Marriage Act 1955.

2. Section 38 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954.

3. Section 41, 42, 43, and 44 of the Divorce Act, 1869.

4. Section 49 of Parsi Marriage Act 1936.