Jatasra and Khosla

In the matter of Jatasra and Khosla, Benjamin J of the Family Court of Australia considered parenting orders concerning a child born in 2011. The dispute involved the mother, Ms Jatasra, and the father, Mr Khosla, regarding the child's future arrangements, including international relocation and parental responsibility.

The court was required to determine the extent of parental responsibility to be allocated, specifically whether the mother should have sole parental responsibility, including the ability to remove the child from Australia and obtain a passport. Further issues included the relocation of the child's habitual residence to India, the arrangements for the child to live with the mother, and the nature and extent of the father's future contact with the child, including provisions for supervised contact in India. The court also had to consider the discharge of existing orders that restricted the child's travel and placed them on an Australian Federal Police Watch List.

Benjamin J discharged all previous parenting orders, including those relating to the child's passport, the restraint on international removal, and the AFP Watch List. The court ordered that the mother have sole parental responsibility for the child, granting her the discretion to remove the child from Australia, obtain a passport, and make decisions regarding the child's education, health, welfare, and development. The mother was permitted to relocate the child's habitual residence to India, and the child was to live with her. The father was to be kept informed of major parenting decisions and his views were to be sought and considered.

The court further ordered that the father would spend time with the child as agreed in writing, or as otherwise ordered. Specific provisions were made for electronic communication between the father and child at least once per week. If the father were to travel to or live in India, he would have supervised contact with the child on alternate Saturdays and during school holidays, with the supervision to be arranged and paid for by the father or provided by a member of the mother's family. All extant applications were dismissed, except as to costs.