A legal battle for the custody of a Canadian child born to Indian parents has taken an interesting turn, with the Supreme Court allowing limited shared custody of the child to both parents. A Bench of Justice MM Sundresh and Justice N Kotiswar Singh asked the warring parents to take the child to Canada where the father can seek variation of a Canadian court’s order for the mother to take the child in her custody. The order came on a petition filed by the father of the child challenging a Gujarat High Court’s order after senior advocate Anil Malhotra contended on behalf of the father that the child’s custody was paramount and both his parents were Hindus and Indian citizens. Biological father was a natural guardian under Section 6 the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956, and custody of the father cannot be declared unlawful, unless he was declared unfit, Malhotra submitted. A day after the High Court’s order, the Canadian court framed issues, conducted an ex-parte summary trial determining jurisdiction, parenting and custody orders by summary final judgment favouring the mother and to be implemented by police force. It gave no visitation, access, contact or parenting time to the father. “However, taking into consideration the paramount interest of the child, we only permit the petitioner (father) to take the child along with respondent No.1 (mother) on May 13, 2026, to Canada. After reaching Canada, the respondent No.1 shall take the child in her custody,” the Supreme Court said, even as it refused to interfere with the high court’s order on merits. While giving liberty to the father to seek variation of the Canadian court’s order, the Supreme Court said, “Till such time, both respondent No.1 and the petitioner shall have shared custody by way an interim arrangement, without prejudice to the contention of the parties on merits, pursuant to the application to be filed by the petitioner before the concerned Canadian court.” “We only request the concerned Canadian Court to consider the variation, if any, sought for by the petitioner by taking into consideration the paramount interest of the child, particularly, his wish to stay with both parents,” the top court said in its order dated April 2. It also gave liberty to the mother to approach the High Court of Gujarat for the release of the child’s passport along with the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card. Malhotra pointed out that the Canadian court awarded full custody, sole decision-making responsibility to the mother and ordered return of child to Canada forthwith with police help in an ex-parte order after conducting a summary trial.