ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) on Monday ruled that custody of a child cannot be granted to the grandmother or paternal aunt solely on the basis of the mother’s second marriage.
A three-member bench headed by Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi heard a case regarding the custody of a nine-year-old child. The court dismissed the appeal and upheld all previous decisions in favour of the mother.
During the hearing, Justice Rizvi asked the appellant’s lawyer why the uncle and aunt wanted custody of the child and whether they had ever inquired about the child’s education. The counsel argued that the mother had remarried. The judge remarked how could custody be transferred to someone else solely on that ground?
The counsel submitted that the mother had sold the share the child received from his father. The judge responded by asking whether the petitioners also wanted to take back that share from the child. He noted that an FIR had also been registered against the mother and that she had been subjected to hostility and malice.
The judge further added that she likely sold the share with permission from the Guardian Court. The judge emphasised that the case before the court concerned only the custody of the child, and that it appeared property interests were being given more importance than the child’s welfare.
The court ultimately ruled that granting custody to the mother was in accordance with the law. It is pertinent to mention here that after the father’s death, custody of the nine-year-old child had been granted to the mother, which was challenged by the child’s paternal aunt, grandmother and uncle.
Meanwhile, the FCC has dismissed the appeal of a private bank in an online banking fraud case involving Rs1.534 million and has directed the bank to return the amount to the citizen. A two-member bench headed by Justice Aamer Farooq heard the case. During the hearing, Justice Farooq remarked that it is the responsibility of banks to strengthen their systems, as hackers have deep access inside banking systems.
He observed that hackers are often already within the banks’ systems, noting that accounts are opened later while hackers obtain data beforehand. He stressed that banks must improve their security systems and questioned where ordinary people should go when money is withdrawn from their accounts without explanation.
The judge also shared that he himself had received a fraudulent call regarding a private bank account, in which he was asked to share an OTP or face account blockade. Since there had been no transactions in that account for the past three to four years, he told them to go ahead and block it. He further added that he does not use online banking accounts.
During the hearing, the bank’s lawyer argued that the transaction was carried out by the citizen through their own app, while the citizen claimed that their phone had been stolen. The judge remarked that the banking ombudsman, the president and the high court had already ruled against the bank. It is pertinent to mention here that in 2022, Rs1.534 million were withdrawn from the account of a resident of Layyah.
