New Delhi, Jan 12 (PTI) The Supreme Court said on Wednesday that welfare of the minor shall be of predominant consideration and that the rights of the parties to a custody dispute are irrelevant.

It said the consideration of the well-being and welfare of the child must get precedence over the individual or personal rights of the parents.

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"The principle that the welfare of the minor shall be the predominant consideration and that the rights of the parties to a custody dispute are irrelevant has been consistently followed by this court," a bench of justices Ajay Rastogi and Abhay S Oka said.

The apex court said that when a court decides that it is in the best interest of the minor to remain in the custody of one of the parents, the rights of the other parent are bound to be affected.

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"The consideration of the well-being and welfare of the child must get precedence over the individual or personal rights of the parents," the bench said.

It said that a custody dispute involves human issues which are always complex and complicated and what is in the welfare of the child depends on several factors.

There can never be a straight jacket formula to decide the issue of custody of a minor child as what is in the paramount interest of a minor is always a question of fact, it said.

The observations came while dealing with a case of custody battle between a US resident and his wife for their minor boy.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)