The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has allowed two minor boys to remain in Kashmir with their mother, noting that they had settled comfortably into the local environment and rejecting their father’s argument that the standard of education in Qatar was better. It pointed out that the father himself had studied in Srinagar, which helped him to secure a prestigious job abroad.Justice Sanjay Dhar allowed the mother’s appeal, holding that sending the children back to Qatar could be hard on them since they had adjusted with the culture and were doing well academically.“Relocating the children from Kashmir back to Qatar, when they have settled down in the culture and environment over here and have shown good progress in their academic pursuits, would expose them to another psychological trauma at this tender age, which would not be in the best interests of their welfare,” the August 14 order read.“…I do not find any cogent material on record that would go on to show that standard of education in Qatar is anything better than the standard of education in India, particularly in Kashmir,” the judge noted, adding, “Qatar…may be a wealthy country, but it is definitely not an educational hub of the world and in any case, not a country which can boast of higher standard of education than India.”The court also appreciated the mother for ensuring that the children remained connected with their father, noting that in many cases of marital disputes, the parent having custody may turn the children against the other parent. However, in this case, the mother had never tutored or poisoned the children against their father and had voluntarily allowed him to have temporary custody whenever he sought the same. Justice Sanjay Dhar found that despite the Qatar court’s order to pay maintenance to his wife and children, the man did not pay the amount of 3,000 riyals to the children.“The credit goes to the lady that she has not allowed the minor children to get distanced from their father, either emotionally or physically. This conduct of the appellant mother needs to be appreciated, and it becomes a determinative factor for deciding this custody battle,” the court added.Married in Srinagar, divorced in QatarIt was claimed that the Muslim couple got married in Srinagar in 2015. The husband, serving as an electrical engineer in Qatar since 2013, took the wife to Qatar immediately after their wedding. They had a son in 2017 and another son was born to them in 2019.Story continues below this adAlso Read | Safe medicines basic right not just consumer choice, says Jammu and Kashmir High CourtHowever, marital discord brought their marriage to an end in terms of a March 2022 judgment passed by a family court in Qatar. The court also directed to hand over the physical custody of the two minor children to the woman.The mother moved to Kashmir with the children in August 2022. The father then approached the Jammu and Kashmir High Court seeking their custody, claiming that their relocation had affected their education and welfare. The mother was represented by Senior Advocate Altaf Naik in the matter, while Senior Advocate Altaf Haqani appeared for the father.‘Father can have custody during holidays’While interacting with the children for 40 minutes, the court found that they had settled down in Kashmir and were content studying in their current school. “While both the children are deeply in love with their father, they are not comfortable with the idea of leaving their mother and staying with their father,” it observed.The court also noted that the mother had violated certain conditions imposed by the Qatar court by procuring duplicate passports for the children. However, it held that this conduct by itself did not make her unfit to have custody when the welfare of the children favoured her.Story continues below this adIt found that despite the Qatar court’s order to pay alimony and maintenance to his wife and children, the man did not pay the maintenance of 3,000 riyals to the children. “Merely because he has personally and physically attended the court hearings by coming all the way from Qatar to Srinagar, would not go on to show that he is more suitable to have the custody of the children,” the court added.Stating that it would be impractical to relocate the children to Qatar, the high court said, “If at all, the respondent father is so much interested in being close to his children, he has always the option of taking up a job in India and remain in constant touch with the children”.Also Read | ‘Only God can save country’ if cops skip duty over threats: Jammu and Kashmir High CourtThe court found that in Kashmir, the children could benefit from the company of not only their maternal grandparents but also their paternal grandparents, who live in Srinagar. It clarified that the father would be entitled to have interim custody of the children during summer and winter vacations, and could spend time with them in Qatar or Srinagar.The court allowed the father to have interim custody during the summer and winter vacations, subject to the children’s schooling. He was also given the right to speak to them three times a week through phone or video calls and to have interim custody for up to two days whenever he visited Kashmir.