India, May 13 -- The Bombay High Court has flagged the "possessiveness" of a mother in a child custody dispute who disregarded her own undertaking and earlier court orders to deny the father access to the child, saying the presence and love of both parents is of great significance in a child's life.

Expressing displeasure over the child being referred to a psychologist, a division bench of justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande said, "We really find this to be disturbing. Had the child been permitted to enjoy the company of both his parents, it would have assisted him in developing into a healthy individual and there would probably be no need for the child to be referred to a psychologist."

A child in the formative years of deve...