A Kutch widow has approached the Gujarat High Court for her six children.
AHMEDABAD: A 38-year-old widow from Kutch has moved the Gujarat High Court seeking custody of her six minor children, aged between three and 14 years, from her own eldest daughter and son-in-law. The High Court has issued notices to the eldest daughter (22), the son-in-law and the concerned authorities, seeking their replies by Sep 8. The petition says relations with the eldest daughter became strained in 2023 after she eloped, married her boyfriend and began living separately. Court records cited in the petition show that she approached the JMFC court in Mundra in Dec 2025, seeking custody and issuance of a search warrant under Section 97 of the CrPC.
The woman, a resident of Dhrab village in Mundra taluka, has one daughter from her first marriage and six children—two sons and four daughters—from her second marriage, according to the petition. The magisterial court noted that the children were not being forcibly detained and recorded that when they were produced, they told the court they were willingly living with their sister. The petition alleges financial wrongdoing, stating, “Taking undue advantage of the petitioner’s (mother’s) trust and vulnerable condition following the death of her husband, respondent no. The application was rejected in Jan this year. In the High Court, the woman’s counsel has argued that she is the natural guardian and entitled to custody, while also challenging the Mundra court’s conclusion, pointing out that the youngest child is three years old and could not have meaningfully expressed a preference on where she wished to live.
The woman has filed a habeas corpus petition through advocate A A Zabuawala after a magisterial court in Mundra earlier this year declined to grant her custody.