Kodela Sivaprasada Rao’s grandson restored to mother

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad High Court on Friday restored the custody of the grandson of Andhra Pradesh Assembly Speaker Dr Kodela Sivaprasada Rao to the mother of the child. The court also directed the estranged couple to have a separate residence for the sake of medical treatment of the child and report back to the court by October 8.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Kalyan Jyoti Sengupta and Justice P.V. Sanjay Kumar was dealing with a habeas corpus petition by Padmapriya, estranged wife of Kodela Siva Ramakrishna, seeking a directive to produce her four-year- old son Gowtham before the court. Prior to passing the interim order, the Chief Justice pulled up the father of the boy for taking away the boy with the help of police.

Denying seeking police help, the father of the child defended himself and claimed that the child needed treatment for obesity and that is why he took him to Hyderabad. The advocate- general of Andhra Pradesh P. Venugopal urged the court to conduct the proceedings on camera. After interviewing the couple and the boy in the chambers of the Chief Justice, the bench declared that the boy appeared active and normal and is close to the mother and maternal grandfather.

While taking note of the views expressed by the boy’s father, the bench asked him to arrange for a separate residence where the boy and mother will live, and he can visit them. The bench said that if there was need for further treatment at Hyderabad, a separate residence could be arranged. The bench said no one should restrict the maternal grandfather from visiting the boy and hoped that the young couple would respect each other’s individuality and sort out the differences.