currently being brought up by his Hindu foster father Alku Lal – to provide her economic status and other details of her family to the court.
Shahnaz is from Allahabad and Akbar lives with his Hindu foster father Alku Lal in Lucknow who owns a tea stall in Qaiser Bagh.
The apex court bench of Justice D.K.Jain and Justice Asok Kumar Ganguly asked Shahnaz Begum to file affidavit after it inquired about her financial status.
Shahnaz told the court that she has a house which has been let out and was doing some Zari, gold/ silver thread work on fabric to make a living for her family of four that includes her husband and two children.
When court was told about Shahnaz’s financial status, it court inquired if she would be able to maintain third child and provide him proper education. Court’s concern was that it may not happen that after the custody of Akbar was given to Shahnaz Begum, he may end up facing the hardship of life.`
The court made it clear that it was concerned with the future of the child.
The apex court was hearing a petition by Shahnaz Bergum seeking the custody of her child Akbar who had disappeared from Allahabad eight years ago and was now being reared by her Hindu foster father Alku Lal in Lucknow. Shahnaz Begum has challenged the Allahabad High Court verdict denying her the custody of Akbar.
Appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government, senior counsel Ratnakar Dash said that in such facts of the situation “the duty of the State is very enormous because State wants that child should be given proper education and maintenance.”
When Akbar was of six years old his biological father Mohammad Abbas along with him went to liquor shop in Allahabad for a drink. From there the child disappeared and could not be traced despite concentrated search by parents.
Three years after Akbar surfaced in Lucknow, his father and mother came to know from TV channels that their son is living with some Alku Lal a tea stall owner. Amidst allegation that Alku Lal was not parting with Akbar, Shahnaz Begum moved a Habeas Corpus petition in Allahabad High court.
She alleged that Alku Lal was using Akbar as a servant at his tea stall. Alku Lal, produced school records to establish that Akbar was attending a regular school in Lucknow. He said that Akbar comes to tea stall because he is there and there was no one else he could go to.
However, Alku Lal said that though he has got attached to the child yet if Akbar was willing to go with his biological parents he had no object. At that time Akbar was 10 year old.
The High Court on January 10, 2007, after talking to Akbar who categorically stated that he wanted to live with Alku Lal, ruled he would continue to live with Alku Lal that is in the interest and welfare of Akbar.
The high court also rubbished the argument that the child is Muslim and Alku is Hindu.”We are a secular country” and if inter-caste marriages are accepted then “inter-caste father and son relationship need not raise eyebrows,” the high court had said.
Undeterred, Shehnaz moved the Supreme Court in 2008 and established through DNA test about the paternity of the child.