"Woman cannot be asked to choose between career and child:" Bombay High Court allows mother to relocate to Poland with child

A woman should be not made to choose between her child and career, the Bombay High Court observed while paving the way for a woman to take her daughter along with her to Poland where she secured a job [Anuradha Sharma vs Anuj Sharma]..An order of the lower court restricting the woman’s travel, was set aside by Justice Bharati Dangre on the ground that the lower court judge had failed to consider a woman's right to professional development."On noticing that the impugned order has failed to consider an important aspect of right to development, being vested in the petitioner as she cannot be asked to choose between her child and her career, the impugned order is quashed and set aside," the High Court stated.The woman had filed a petition before a family court in Pune under the Guardian and Wards Act to be declared the sole guardian of her daughter. She also filed an application along with it seeking permission from the court to relocate and travel to Krakow, Poland along with her daughter after she received a job offer there.She filed another application seeking directions to her husband, the father of her daughter, to submit his non-objection so that the daughter's Visa formalities could be completed.The application was rejected by the family court, thus, restraining the woman from travelling outside the country during the pendency of the guardianship litigation.This order was then challenged by the woman before the High Court.Before setting aside the order of the family court, Justice Dangre also took into account the rights of the father to have access to his daughter. The Court said the absence of one's daughter from the country could only be compensated by permitting overnight access to the father."The absence of the daughter from country can only be compensated by permitting overnight access to the father, since ultimately it is not the quantity of time spent with the children, but the quality time, which assumes great significance to develop a Parental Bond," the Court stated.It, therefore, modified the consent terms and allowed the father to have overnight access to the daughter for some days during her three vacations in a calendar year.Advocat Abhijit Sarwate with advocates Hardev Kaur and Rahul Pardesi appeared for the Petitioner.Advocate Mayur Khandeparkar with with advocate Ajinkya Udane appeared for the Respondent.[Read Judgment]