Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has ruled that a man serving a life sentence for murdering his wife cannot be considered fit to act as guardian of his minor daughter, appointing her maternal uncle and aunt as her legal guardians instead.
The father, a prominent Bollywood hair stylist, was convicted for killing his wife, an airline ground staff member, at their Andheri home in May 2012. After the incident, the child’s maternal grandfather was appointed her guardian when she was three. Following his death in August 2025, the teenager was left without a legally designated guardian, prompting her maternal uncle and his wife to approach the high court.
During the hearing last week, A single judge bench of justice Farhan P Dubhash accepted their plea and appointed the couple as the new guardians of the girl, who is now 16 years old. Though the father of the girl was named as the respondent in the couple’s petition, the judge did not feel it necessary to even issue him a notice, as he has been serving life imprisonment for killing the child’s mother.
“I am of the view that the respondent (the girl’s father) is unfit and unsuitable to be appointed as the guardian of the minor,” the court said while waiving notice under Section 11 of the Guardians and Wards Act. The court appointed the girl’s maternal uncle and aunt as her new guardians, considering that the child grew up in their company and looked at them as her parents, and that they were well educated and financially well-off.
The court interacted with the 16-year-old, who said she considers her uncle and aunt her parents and wishes to continue living with them. She also conveyed that she does not want to meet or speak to her biological father.
“She has lived with them and her grandfather since she was three years old and she has explicitly informed me that she is extremely happy and wants to continue staying with them in the future,” justice Dubhash said.
Emphasising that the welfare of the minor is paramount, the court held that her interests would be best served by formally appointing the petitioners as her guardians, noting that at 16, her wishes deserved due weight.