Bengaluru: According to the High Court of Karnataka, breastfeeding is an inalienable right of lactating mothers under the Constitution. The single bench comprising Justice Krishna S Dixit made the observation after Husna Banu moved the court seeking custody of her child, who had been taken from a maternity hospital in Bengaluru and sold to childless Anupama Desai in Koppal.
Moreover, the court determined that the suckling infant’s right to be breastfed should be an assimilation with that of the mother. A mother who is breastfeeding and a child who is nursing are protected under the right to life guaranteed by the Indian Constitution, the court noted.
By emphasizing that such an incident should not happen in a civilized society, the bench remarked, ‘It is unfortunate that this pretty child for no fault remained without being breastfed, its lactating mother having had no access to it till now. In a civilised society such things should never happen.’
Read also: ‘Thought it was a joke’: Vir Das on International Emmy nomination
Foster mother had asked the court to retain the child as she had cared for the toddler for more than a year. Desai’s contention, however, was judged to be antithetical to the concept of motherhood by the court. ‘Children are not chattel for being apportioned between their genetic mother and a stranger on the basis of their numerical abundance,’ Justice Dixit maintained.
Court officials did appreciate the kind gesture made by both the women who wanted a child and the biological mother told the foster mother that she could see the child whenever she wanted. ‘Such kind gestures coming from two women, hailing from two different religious backgrounds, are marked by their rarity, nowadays; thus, this legal battle for the custody of the pretty child is drawn to a close with a happy note, once for all,’ the court said.
Post Your Comments