What does Child Custody Means?

According to the Dictionary, Custody is the legal right to keep and look after a child, especially the right given to a child's mother or father when they get divorced. The custody of a child after the divorce or the judicial separation of the parents is a burning issue and is one of the most critical issues on which the court must decide.
In the last few years, the institution called marriage has declined in the country. For small reasons, married couples start going around the court. Due to this, divorce cases are also very high in the courts. Divorce separates the way of husband and wife, but if they have a child, it has the most significant impact of divorce parents. Also, some children bear the pain of broken relationships throughout their lives.
After the divorce, the decision of which parents the child will remain with is sometimes made by mutual consent, while sometimes the court decides in this regard. The Family Court gives a decision regarding the custody of the child after hearing the parents' side

There are a total of four types of Child Custody available in Indian Law:

Physical custody of the child Physical Custody means that the child will be under the parent's guardianship. According to the court's decision, the other parent shall be given due permission to meet with the child from time to time. This form of custody is mainly in India because the child gets all the family benefits and has the best upbringing possible.

1. Joint custody

In simple language, Joint custody means the custody rights are vested in both parents. Out of four Child custody forms, joint custody is one of the best solutions in the custody battle.

There are two reasons:

2. Third-party custody

Third-party custody means the custodial right lies with neither of the biological parents. If both Parties are incapable of raising a child, letting anyone have the child's rights would not be beneficial for the child. In that case, a third party who is in some way related to the child's parents is given the right to be the guardian of the child for the beneficiary of the child.

3. Sole custody

In the case of sole custody, the custody of the child relies on one biological parent. The other parent is completely kept away from the child. In this case, another parent is not given any right over the child due to the previous history of abusive behavior, the sinister atmosphere at home, or the inability to benefit the child.

Documents required for taking child custody:

•    Marriage certificate
•    Address proof of husband and wife.
•    Four pictures from the wedding.
•    Income tax statement for the last three years.
•    Profession and income details (salary slip, appointment letter)
•    Ownership of assets and property details
•    Information about the family (husband and wife)
•    Proof of living separately for one year

On what basis does the court decide while granting custody?

The custody of the child should be given to the parents; the court makes a decision based on its discretion and emotion. He keeps the interest of the child paramount. He ensures that the one who guarantees the child's safety brings him up ethically, gives him a good education, takes care of his financial interest, and gets custody of the child. If the court feels that neither the mother nor the father can take care of the child correctly, it can give custody of the child to a third party.

What happens in the case of custody of children in the Hindu religion?

Let us tell you that in the case of Hindu children, under the Hindu minority and guardianship act of 1956, a provision has been made for guardianship. This is also very similar to the guardian and wards act of 1890. 

According to this act, this type of arrangement has been given-

•    If the child's age is less than five years, then custody is given to the mother.
•    If the child is over nine years old, the court asks him about his wish as to which of the parents he wants to go to.
•    If the child is older, custody is often given to the father.
•    In the case of a daughter, custody often goes to the mother. It is a different matter that the father can also express his desire to keep the daughter.