Kerala’s religious healer wished to free girl from father or mother’s custody. SC says no | Newest Information India

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected the plea by a 53-year-old spiritual healer in Kerala to release a 21-year-old woman from her parents’ custody because she claimed they had been in a spiritual relationship for over two years.

Self-proclaimed healer Kailas Natarajan, a doctor by profession, wanted the Supreme Court to apply the March 2018 law that allowed an adult woman, Hadiya, to walk with her husband Shafin Jahan, whom she married despite her parents’ opposition. In the landmark ruling, the Supreme Court ruled that “parental love or care must not affect an adult’s right to vote in choosing a man to marry with.”

Before the Supreme Court, senior lawyer Gopal Shankaranaraynan, appearing on behalf of Natarajan, argued that the petitioner should not seek custody of the woman but should be allowed, as an adult, to make a decision of her own choosing. He claimed to be in what he called a spiritual life relationship with the woman for two and a half years.

A three-judge bank headed by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana refused.

“This is not a case where we can allow the girl to go with the petitioner (Natarajan). The girl is in a very fragile condition. This man is married with two children and has been charged once under the Child Protection from Sexual Offenses Act (POCSO) (based on a 14-year-old abuse charge). The facts in this case are such that it does not inspire confidence to give custody to the petitioner who has dubious histories. “

Natarajan had previously also petitioned the Kerala Supreme Court. But the Supreme Court also denied his application on January 20 of this year after interacting with the girl. The judges found her vulnerable and incapable of making decisions. When she asked to stay with the petitioner, she showed signs of a mental disorder. It was her depression that caused her parents to approach the petitioner and seek a cure. However, under the pretext of counseling her in solitude, Natarajan developed intimacy, claiming she was his spiritual partner, even though they never stayed together.

The court was aware that such incidents, in which families fight spiritual gurus in court for custody of their child, are not new. “You know the environment of our Gurujis and Swamis,” noted the bank, reporting on a recent Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by a couple from Andhra Pradesh who were concerned that their daughter, who had studied abroad, might be in A spiritual guru found a similar situation.

Other reasons also led the court to suspect the petitioner’s background. Separated from his wife and children, he claimed to be a teacher of Vedic Yogashastra but was accused of misbehaving a 14-year-old girl who came to his home for psychiatric treatment. Even the petitioner’s mother disapproved of his activities in the name of spirituality. Her testimony to the Kerala Police Department was held in its verdict by the Supreme Court.

These reasons led the Supreme Court to have full confidence in the Supreme Court’s interaction with the girl and to conclude that custody of the girl with the parents was not illegal and in their best interests.

The bank, which includes Judges AS Bopanna and Hrishikesh Roy, said that in India, unlike the West, parents tend to cover up children’s mental health problems. The judges were referring to an identical case reported from the United States a week ago without identifying the personality. Senior attorney Shankarnaraynan told the court that the case was about American pop star Britney Spears. Because of her erratic behavior, a local US court hired her father to manage his daughter’s estate and estate. “There the laws are different, the culture is different. As long as a person does not consent, no treatment can be given, ”said the bank.

In order to be satisfied with the well-being of the 21-year-old woman, the bank ordered her to be taken to the district judge after a month and a compliance report to be presented to the court on her condition, detailing her treatment.