Imperative to secure welfare of minor brought to India from Ukraine by father: HC

New Delhi: Hearing a plea by a Ukrainian mother who alleged her minor son was illegally brought here by his father during the Russia-Ukraine war, the Delhi High Court on Tuesday said the 3-year-old was not an "object" and it was imperative to secure his welfare and well-being.

A bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Talwant Singh appointed a child counsellor to interact with the parents and the child for a "better insight" and remarked he cannot be subjected to

more trauma.

"What this court has to consider is the welfare of the child. The court is not for a moment considering the interpersonal relationship between the mother and the father. All that is imperative for the court to do is secure the welfare and well-being of the child," the court said.

Once the report has been submitted the court will have a better insight as to where the child's welfare lay, the bench said.

The court observed there was "evidently a crisis in Ukraine" and it "cannot turn a blind eye" to it, and asked the petitioner mother if she could stay in India for some more time so she could be granted more access to

the child.

Your assertion is that it (the war) does not extend to where you live. We can't proceed on that assumption. This has been going on for a while and unfortunately there is no end in sight. And we can't turn a blind eye to everything that is happening," the court said.

The bench added it understood the child needs both his parents as well as his sister.

"He (the boy) has undergone enough trauma. We can't subject him to more trauma. We can't treat him as an object," it said.

The petitioner agreed to continue to stay in India for some more time and said she will not take her child to a place where there is danger.

She added the father took away the child unlawfully and she has come from Ukraine to take him back.