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HIGH COURT OF DELHI
Date of Decision: 26th September, 2024
SPARSH DHIR .....Petitioner
Through: Ms. Amita Gupta, Ms. Neha Tyagi and Mr. Aayush Gupta, Advs.
Through: Mr. Yakesh Anand, Mr. Akshay Thakur and Ms. S.L. Soujanya, Advs.
JUDGMENT
1. Having heard the learned counsels for the parties and on perusal of the record, the present contempt petition comes up for final decision.
2. Shorn of unnecessary details, this Court vide orders dated 02.02.2021, 10.03.2021 and 29.11.2021, disposed of CM APPL. 487/2020 thereby passing the following directions:-
ii The father would be allowed to meet the child on 13th February, 2021 and 14th February, 2021. He would be permitted to pick up the child and Ms. Esha Dhir at about 11:30 am, to spend 4 to 5 hours with them. If the father wishes to spend solitary time with the child, Ms. Esha Dhir can be in a visible and non-audible distance for some time during the said period. The father should drop them back to the residence of Ms. Esha Dhir, who is living with her parents, by 5:00 pm. Similarly, the father would be permitted one more physical meeting with the child, in the same terms, on a date which can be mutually agreed upon by him and. Esha Dhir. This meeting would also be facilitated by Ms. Esha Dhir. iii. A sum of Rs.15,000/- shall be paid by Mr. Sparsh Dhir to Ms. Esha Dhir by the 10th of every month with effect from February, 2021. The first payment shall be made by the 10th of February.”
3. The petitioner is seeking initiation of contempt petition against the respondent/wife/mother for not allowing the petitioner to interact with the child through video conferencing in a congenial atmosphere. Moreover, certain assertions have been made that the child has been tutored so much that he starts abusing the petitioner/father/husband during video conferencing.
4. It is also alleged that during the video conferencing, many times the camera is turned off and he does not receive any reply from the child and apparently, the respondent/wife/mother feeds words into the ears of the child. Learned counsel for the petitioner in this regard referred to the allegations which have been levelled in the present petition including e-mails exchanges between the parties, vide paragraphs (8) to (20) which are not reproduced herein for the sake of brevity.
5. However, during the course of arguments, it has come out that the aforesaid order was later on modified vide orders dated 06.09.2024 and 12.09.2024 by the learned Judge, Family Court, North-West District, Rohini Courts, Delhi, and the sum result is that the petitioner/father has otherwise been physically meeting with the child every Saturday for stipulated hours. Some grievances have been aired that even the said physical meetings are not taking place in a congenial and proper atmosphere.
6. It is also brought out during the course of proceedings that the matter is coming up for hearing before the learned Judge, Family Court tomorrow.
7. Although the issues raised in the present contempt petition are serious and cannot be brushed aside, however, conducting any further proceedings in the present matter would bring out no purposeful result.
8. This Court calls upon the learned counsels for the parties to advise their clients to behave like educated persons and ensure that the meetings rights are exercised by the petitioner/father/husband in a proper and congenial atmosphere for the mental and psychological well being of the child.
9. For now, the present petition is disposed of without prejudice, with the direction that the learned Judge, Family Court may have further interaction with the child, as and when convenient, and properly counsel the parties so as to ensure that the orders of this Court or for that matter the directions of the Family Court are complied with in letter and spirit.
10. Needless to say that the learned Judge, Family Court shall monitor the outcome of such meetings and may pass appropriate directions so as to ensure compliance of its orders.
DHARMESH SHARMA, J. SEPTEMBER 26, 2024