A woman should be not made to choose between her child and career, observed the Bombay High Court while allowing a woman to take her daughter along with her to Poland where she secured a job.

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.

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 Poland along with her daughter after she received a job offer there.

She also filed another application seeking directions to her husband 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 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.

Case title: Anuradha Sharma vs Anuj Sharma