Surat. A family court in Surat district of Gujarat has banned a 7-year-old girl from taking initiation to become a Sadhvi. The father of the Jain community girl had appealed to the court. The father had said in the petition that the girl’s mother, who lives separately from him, wants to initiate the girl against his wishes. The girl is still very young. She cannot take such a big decision herself. On the father’s request, the court has ordered the mother to give an affidavit that she will not allow the girl to attend initiation.
Family court judge SV Mansoori put a stay on the girl’s initiation. It was to take place on 8 February 2026 in Mumbai. Giving information about the decision, the petitioner’s lawyer Nirman Mehta said that the court has accepted the demand for an interim stay on the initiation of the girl child. The court has also sought an affidavit from the mother. In this, the mother will have to give a written statement that she will not allow the child to participate in the initiation ceremony. The next hearing will be on January 2.
During the hearing, the court was told that the woman had left her husband’s house about a year ago after a dispute over this issue. She started living with her parents along with her daughter and son. The girl’s father had approached the court on December 10. In this he had claimed that his estranged wife had decided against his wishes to make the innocent girl a Sadhvi by getting her initiated.
Under the Guardians and Wards Act 1890, the father has sought to be made the legal guardian of the child to protect her interests. Family Court Judge Mansoori has issued a notice to the wife on the husband’s petition. The wife was asked to reply by 22nd December. The father told the court that he had married in 2012. He has two children. Husband and wife are living separately since 2024.
In the petition on behalf of the father, the court has also been told that he had talked to his wife on the issue of their daughter becoming a Sadhvi. Both of them agreed that when the girl attains adulthood, she will decide to become a Sadhvi. However, the wife wanted the child to take initiation to become a Jain Sadhvi in a big ceremony in Mumbai in February 2026. The petitioner husband has also revealed in the petition that his wife says that she will return only when he agrees to the initiation of the child.
