The preference of the minor in favour of his/her father cannot be the sole criterion in determining the welfare of the minor especially in case of a female child between the age of 10 to 15 years.

 PLJ 2023 Lahore 912

The preference of the minor in favour of his/her father cannot be the sole criterion in determining the welfare of the minor especially in case of a female child between the age of 10 to 15 years. Held that one cannot lose sight of a very germane biological aspect of the matter concerning the puberty and the privacy of the minor. The care and concern, on part of a custodial parent, needed by a minor girl of her age is of pivotal importance in this case. Had the minor been a male child and exhibited the preference, which the minor in the instant case has shown before this Court, in favor of the petitioner, this Court would have not hesitated to grant the permanent custody of the minor to the petitioner, however, in the instant case, the minor is a daughter and this Court is of the opinion that a female child between the age of ten (10) to fifteen (15) years face such biological changes that, at the said age, she would need her natural mother the most, as opposed to any other person including father and/or the step mother or a grandmother, more particularly when there is nothing on record to establish that the respondent has any disability like contracting second marriage etc., on account of which she might be deprived of the permanent custody of the minor although second marriage of the mother, as observed earlier, is also not the sole ground to deprive a mother from the custody of the minor.