Adultery Doesn’t Make A Person An Incompetent Parent: High Court In Custody Case

New Delhi: 

An adulterous spouse is not equivalent to an incompetent parent and an extramarital affair of a person cannot be the sole determining factor to deny them custody of a child, the Delhi High Court has ruled.

The high court said points for consideration in divorce proceedings and custody matters may be co-related but they are always “mutually exclusive”.

A bench of Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Neena Bansal Krishna said even when adultery by a parent has been proved, it cannot disentitle him or her of the custody of children unless there is something more to prove that such adulterous act has affected the welfare of the children.

“‘Adulterous spouse’ is not equivalent to ‘incompetent parent’. Points for consideration in divorce proceedings and custody matters may be co-related but are always mutually exclusive. Any adulterous relationship or extramarital affair of either spouse, cannot be the sole determining factor to deny custody of a child, unless it is proved that the adulterous relationship in itself is pernicious/ detrimental/ injurious to the welfare of the child,” the bench said.