The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has dismissed the contempt of court petition filed by Japanese citizen Nakano Eriko against Bangladeshi national Imran Sharif, the father of their two children.
The Appellate Division bench led by Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique, on Thursday also rejected Imran's contempt of court petition against Eriko and another petition filed by Eriko to take the two children to Japan.
On May 16, Eriko filed a petition against Imran alleging that he disobeyed a court order and forcibly took the children out several times.
On the same day, Imran responded with a contempt of court counter-petition against Eriko for not allowing him to visit his children.
On May 17, Eriko filed another petition seeking an opportunity to go to Japan with her two daughters during the summer holidays.
The Appellate Division on February 13 ruled that the two children of Nakano and Imran will remain with their mother until a case filed by the father for the custody of the children is settled in the Family Court, settling an appeal by Nakano against a High Court decision awarding custody of the children to their father.
The court also allowed the father to meet the children by discussing the matter with the mother.
The Family Court usually decides on child custody. Nakano had filed an application for habeas corpus - a writ requiring a person under arrest to be brought before a judge or into court – to the High Court.
The Supreme Court said that the children could not be taken out of the jurisdiction of the court considering the circumstances of the case and the interests of the children. As a result of this order, the children cannot be taken out of Bangladesh.
The case filed by the father is pending in the Family Court.
The Supreme Court has also directed the Family Court to settle the case within three months of receiving the order.
Imran, an American citizen of Bangladeshi descent, married Nakano in 2008. The couple had three children.
Three days after Nakano filed for divorce in January 2021, Imran picked his two eldest daughters up on their way home from school and flew with them to Bangladesh. The three have been living here since.
Nakano came to Bangladesh from Japan in July last year to try and regain custody of her children. The legal battle has stretched on for months.
On November 21, the High Court decided that Bangladeshi citizen Imran would have custody of the two girls he had brought to Dhaka from Japan. He was, however, required to allow their mother to meet with them in private.
Nakano then challenged the decision at the Supreme Court. The apex court then granted her custody of the children.
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