India court denies HIV-positive mom custody

Posted 09 29 2007 11:04AM

A court in Jaipur, India, has denied an HIV-positive woman custody of her 8-year-old daughter, a rights activist said Friday.

The woman, who was not identified to protect her privacy, married a soldier from northwestern Rajasthan state in the late 1990s without knowing that he was HIV-positive, said Kavita Srivastav, state convener of the People's Union for Civil Liberties, a private rights group.

Her husband died four years ago. After his death her in-laws began treating the woman badly and took her daughter on the grounds that the mother had become HIV-positive, Srivastav said.

She moved to her parents' home and later approached a court in Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, for custody of her daughter.

The court rejected her plea this week, ruling that she would not able to take care of her daughter because of her HIV-positive status, Srivastav said.

The People's Union for Civil Liberties challenged the verdict in an appeals court in Jaipur on Thursday.

The court put the lower court decision on hold and has agreed to hear the petition, according to the woman's attorney, Ajay Jain. (AP)

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