Seshan and Sadasivam

This matter concerned an application by the Applicant mother, Seshan, seeking to abridge the hearing of an application filed on 31 January 2019. The core of the dispute involved the Applicant mother's desire to travel overseas with the child, [X], born in 2016, to India. The Respondent father, Sadasivam, was involved in the proceedings, as evidenced by the conditions placed on the mother's travel and the release of the child's passport. The decision was made by Judge A. Kelly.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether to grant the Applicant mother permission to take the child out of Australia and travel to India during a specified period in 2019. This involved determining the conditions under which such travel would be permitted, particularly in light of the child's placement on the Airport Watch List and the need to ensure the child's return to Australia and continued time with the Respondent father.

The court reasoned that the Airport Watch List entry for the child should be suspended for the duration of the proposed travel to facilitate the overseas trip. Permission to travel was granted subject to several strict conditions designed to ensure the child's welfare and the father's continued involvement in the child's life. These conditions included the mother's obligation to return the child to Australia by a specific date, provide detailed travel information and accommodation details to the father's solicitor in advance, and notify the father upon their return. The court also ordered the release of the child's passport to the mother upon her compliance with these conditions and its return to the father's solicitor immediately upon their return to Australia. Liberty was granted to the mother to apply on short notice if the father failed to release the passport after she had met the stipulated conditions.