PARENTAL ALIENATION AND ITS IMPACT ON FATHERS IN INDIA

ABSTRACT An initiative undertaken by Ekam Nyaay Foundation, this study was launched to gather real-life experiences and insights from fathers involved in child custody and visitation disputes in India. With the growing number of child custody battles during and post-divorce or separation, the objective of this survey is to understand the legal, emotional, and procedural hurdles faced by fathers in India as custody of children in majority of cases is given to mothers in matrimonial disputes. The survey was conducted over a period of two months and gathered responses from 108 fathers across the country. Respondents came from both large metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Bengaluru, and from smaller cities such as Pune, Jaipur, Bhubaneswar, and Indore. This research throws light on difficulties fathers are facing in India to see their children during matrimonial disputes. Out of fathers who approached courts to seek visitation rights, a mere 25% fathers being granted the same as per the study paints a grim image of the plight of fathers. The conclusion is that while men are increasingly involving themselves in upbringing of the child, if the marriage goes awry and legal disputes arise, rights of fathers are painfully being ignored by courts in India, thus denying bliss of fatherhood to countless men. Keywords – Child custody, Father, Men, Custody Rights.