The Lahore High Court has set aside a trial court ruling and handed a 13-year-old boy back to his foster parents, emphasising that a child\u2019s preference and emotional wellbeing must take precedence in custody matters.<\/p>\n
Justice Faisal Zaman Khan issued the eight-page judgment while hearing a petition filed by Arshad Ali. The trial court had earlier ordered the boy\u2019s return to his biological parents, but the High Court found that ruling inconsistent with legal principles and the child\u2019s best interests.<\/p>\n
The judgment notes that the Supreme Court has repeatedly held that a child\u2019s wishes carry \u201csignificant evidentiary value\u201d in custody disputes. In this case, the teenager twice told the court he wanted to continue living with his foster parents. He was temporarily sent to his biological parents for one week to assess his comfort level, but upon returning, he reaffirmed the same choice.<\/p>\n
According to the order, the boy has lived with his foster parents since birth and spent nine uninterrupted years under their care. The court observed that the biological father has three marriages and 13 children, adding that placing the teenager in such a large household may not be in his best interest. The ruling also notes that the biological parents failed to prove that the child\u2019s upbringing under the foster family had been inadequate in any way.<\/p>\n
The judge remarked that the child had grown up without complaints and that the sudden revelation\u2014after nearly a decade\u2014that his six sisters and one brother were not his real siblings would be emotionally distressing. The court further pointed out that the biological parents initiated the custody case due to a domestic dispute, not because of concerns regarding the child\u2019s welfare.<\/p>\n
The decision states that the biological parents voluntarily allowed their relative to take the child at birth, and they could not convince the court that this arrangement had been temporary. However, the court clarified that the biological parents remain entitled to seek visitation rights through the Guardian Court.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Lahore High Court has set aside a trial court ruling and handed a 13-year-old boy back to his foster parents, emphasising that a child\u2019s preference and emotional wellbeing must take precedence in custody matters. Justice Faisal Zaman Khan issued the eight-page judgment while hearing a petition filed by Arshad Ali. The trial court had […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":68873,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,16],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-69262","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-latest","8":"category-pakistan"},"yoast_head":"\n