Child Custody Disputes Can’t Wait Out School Reopenings: Kerala High Court Directs Urgent Hearing on Father’s Summer Access Plea

“When Child’s Vacation Rights Are at Stake, Delay Defeats Justice”, In a prompt intervention to safeguard the parental rights of a non-custodial father, the Kerala High Court directed the Family Court, Chavara to urgently dispose of an interim custody plea pending since March. The petitioner-father had sought temporary custody of his minor son during the summer vacation of 2025, but the matter remained undecided, prompting him to invoke the High Court's supervisory jurisdiction under Article 227 of the Constitution.

“Delay in such matters may render the application infructuous,” observed the Division Bench of Justices Anil K. Narendran and Johnson John. The petition was eventually closed after it was brought to the Court’s attention that the Family Court had passed an order on the custody plea on May 13, 2025.

The custody battle pertains to Vihaan Vishnu, a 5½-year-old child born to Vishnu S. and Salabham Sunil. The father originally filed a guardianship petition (GOP No. 1693/2020) before the Family Court, Ernakulam, which was later transferred and renumbered as OP(G&W) No. 921/2021 in the Family Court, Chavara.

On March 16, 2025, Vishnu filed I.A. No. 22/2025 seeking interim custody of the child during summer holidays from May 9 to May 30. However, when the Family Court failed to act on the application, he approached the High Court.

Through I.A. No. 23/2025 filed in April, he reiterated his request, stressing the time-sensitive nature of his claim. His counsel submitted that the Family Court had listed the matter on May 12, just weeks before schools were to reopen in early June, risking complete denial of visitation.

The High Court, recognizing the urgency, observed on May 9: “If the matter is prolonged, the application will become infructuous since the schools will re-open after summer recess, by 2nd of June.”

The Court directed the Family Court to make every endeavour to dispose of the interim application on May 12, or at the earliest thereafter. It further recorded that the Family Court had, in fact, passed an order on May 13 on I.A. No. 22/2025, thus rendering the writ unnecessary.

“In such circumstances, we find that nothing survives in this original petition and the same is accordingly closed, leaving open the legal and factual contentions raised by both sides,” the Bench held.

Importantly, the Court refrained from expressing any opinion on the merits of the Family Court’s interim order, preserving the rights of both parties to seek further legal remedies if necessary.

This ruling underlines the High Court’s commitment to ensuring that procedural delays do not deprive a parent—especially a non-custodial one—of meaningful access during a child's vacation period. By responding swiftly and ensuring the Family Court acts before the school term resumed, the Court reaffirmed that “justice delayed in child custody is justice denied.”

“The petitioner has a right to be heard, and the child has a right to shared affection. Justice must work with the calendar when it concerns children,” the judgment implicitly signals.

Date of Decision: May 16, 2025