Dad accused of abetting wife's suicide denied custody (Basirhat, India)

Dad BODHISATTA BOSE will not get custody of his 3-year-old son after spending time in jail for "abetting his wife's suicide" (he is now out on bail). He will get supervised visitation at the home of the maternal grandfather. However, the article notes that UNNAMED DAD got custody of a 5-year-old under similar circumstances a few months ago.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090903/jsp/calcutta/story_11442587.jsp

Father under scanner denied kid custody
OUR LEGAL REPORTER

The high court on Wednesday refused to grant custody of a three-year-old child to his father, who has spent 60 days behind bars for allegedly abetting his wife’s suicide.

Justice Jyotirmoy Bhattacharya gave the custody of the boy to his maternal grandfather Shankar Debnath. The father, Bodhisatta Bose, will be allowed to meet his son once a week in the house of Debnath’s advocate.

“Though a child’s father is his natural guardian, here the father is facing a criminal charge of abetting his wife’s suicide. So, the court is not allowing his prayer for his son’s custody,” said Justice Bhattacharya.

A few months back, another judge of the court had awarded the custody of a five-year-old boy to his father, who was facing a similar charge, and observed that fathers are natural guardians of their children after their mothers’ death.

Bodhisatta, a resident of Basirhat, teaches in a primary school. He married Debnath’s daughter Jhuma in 2003. Their child was born in 2005.

On August 11 last year, Jhuma’s body was found in a pond near her in-laws’ house. Debnath, a resident of Barasat, lodged a police case alleging that Bodhisatta had abetted his daughter’s suicide.

“Bodhisatta was arrested a week after the incident and sent to jail custody by the Barasat court,” said Anjan Bhattacharya, the lawyer appearing for Bodhisatta, who is out on bail.

“Debnath had filed a case before the Barasat court seeking custody of his grandson,” added Bhattacharya.

“The court had granted my client’s prayer and allowed Bodhisatta to meet his son in my client’s house. Bodhisatta did not come to see his son and moved an appeal before the high court against the Barasat court’s order,” Biswajit Basu, the lawyer appearing for Debnath, said.