Child-access applications flood family court during summer

PUNE: Like every summer, this year too, the Family Court has found itself inundated with applications for child access. Both divorced and about-to-be divorced couples want to spend time with their offspring during the school vacations - and since that is a matter they cannot amicably resolve amongst themselves, it's time to move court.
As the petitions are usually meant to be disposed off within a week given their urgency, the pressure, say officials at the court, is at fever pitch.
Statistics with the family court point out that on average, 40 to 50 petitions for child access are filed during April and May, which is more than double the petitions filed in the other months of the year. So far, 43 applications have been filed in April-May.
"As far as possible, we ask couples to resolve the matter among themselves. After all, their children are at an impressionable age. But the levels of animosity among most couples are so high, that even such a simple request as a father wanting to take his children out of station for a week, becomes a subject of heartburn. And this ego conflict has been observed across socio-economic statuses, without exception. It's not uncommon for a mother to allege that the father is incapable of looking after a child for a variety of reasons - which could range from allegations of drunkenness and abject irresponsibility to even child sexual abuse," said a senior legal official. "So many a times, either overnight access to the child is denied to a parent or supervisory access given for a certain period."
"Matters are complicated further when the child is too young to have an opinion on what he/she wants. For instance, how do you ask a child of three or even six for that matter?" said a counselor. 'But yes, as far as possible, we try to take into account the child's wishes on the subject. More often than not, the child's opinion of the other parent has been coloured by the judgment of the custodian parent."
Another counselor said: "Many of these parents don't even bother to keep in regular touch with their children on occasions like birthdays, weekends and festivals. But when it is summer, it's time to wake up and demand access to the child. So, we suspect that it's more a case of keeping up appearances - or just satisfying one's ego. Like this gentleman for instance, who usually, sends his mother to meet his ten-year-old son on the third Saturdays of every month. Unsurprisingly, the child hardly shares a bond with him. So when he moved court for taking his son out during summer, he received a sound scolding from the judge."
For her part, a parent of a thirteen-year-old son told TOI: "My former husband has a drinking problem. Naturally I wasn't keen on my son going to stay with him. Fortunately, the court denied him overnight access, but agreed he could meet him on certain designated days."
Another counselor told TOI: "The breakdown of communication between estranged spouse results in these petitions being filed. Those who realise that while they may no longer be husband and wife-they are still parents with a duty to ensure their estrangement does not affect the child-are far and few in between.