Sathish Ninan, J.
1. Petitioner is the mother of the minor child â€" Rishikesh V. Arun, presently two and a half years old, born in the wedlock with the respondent. The
petitioner alleges that the child was forcefully taken custody of by the respondent. The petitioner has approached the Family Court, Palakkad by filing
GOP No.1332/2021 seeking permanent custody of the child. In the said proceedings, the petitioner has filed IA No.2 of 2021 seeking interim custody
of the child. All that the petitioner seeks for is, an expeditious consideration of the interlocutory application IA 2/21 by the Family Court.
2. On 08.04.2022, this Court had ordered notice to the respondent by special messenger. The notice has been served with the endorsement,
“respondent not in station, father accepted noticeâ€. The respondent is represented by Adv. Sri.Santhosh P. Poduval.
3. The learned counsel appearing for the respondent contends that the respondent has filed IA 3/2022 before the Family Court challenging its territorial
jurisdiction and that the same is also liable to be considered along with the application filed by the petitioner.
4. After appreciating the entire facts and circumstances, we are of the opinion that the Family Court is to consider the interlocutory application IA
2/2021 initially and to pass appropriate orders thereon. As of now, we are not inclined to issue any direction with regard to IA 3/2022.
5. In order to enable consideration of IA 2/2021 without any further delay, it is ordered that the parties shall appear before the Family Court, Palakkad
on 18.04.2022. The Family Court shall suo motu advance the posting of the case to the said date, take up IA 2/2021, hear the parties and pass
appropriate orders. It is made clear that it shall be open for the Family Court to pass even ad-interim orders on the application.
The original petition is disposed of as above.
