Man moves court against wife's decision to initiate 7-yr-old daughter into monkhood

Surat, Dec 10 (PTI) A Jain man has approached the family court here seeking the custody of his seven-year-old daughter, claiming that his estranged wife has decided against his wishes that the child should take `diksha' as a monk. He should be appointed the girl's legal guardian to protect her interests, said the plea filed under the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890.

Judge S V Mansuri of the family court on Wednesday issued a notice to the respondent wife, seeking a reply by December 22.

As per the petitioner, he married the respondent in 2012, and they have two children. The couple have been living separately since 2024.

He had discussed the issue of their daughter embracing monkhood with his wife and agreed that the girl should become a monk after attaining maturity, the petition said. But his wife insisted that the child take `diksha' (undergo initiation as a monk) at a mass ceremony in Mumbai in February 2026, it claimed.

In April 2024, his wife left home with their two children and went to stay with her parents, saying she would return only if he agreed to their daughter's `diksha', the petition alleged. Later she insisted on going ahead with the ceremony whether he agreed or not, it said.

Being only seven years old, his daughter cannot take such a decision on her own, the petitioner said.

His wife used to take the daughter to religious gatherings, and once left her alone with a `guru' at his Ahmedabad ashram without his consent, the man claimed.

Later, on learning that his wife had left the child at the ashram of a Jain monk in Mumbai, he went to meet the child but was turned back, the petition claimed. PTI COR KA PD KRK