New Delhi, Oct. 21 -- The Supreme Court has ordered a seven-year-old girl to return to the United States nearly four years after her mother brought her to India in violation of a US court's custody order, holding that the child's best interests would be served by growing up and receiving her education in the country of which she is a citizen.

A bench of justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan allowed the father's appeal against a Karnataka High Court judgment that had declined to direct the child's return, ruling that the girl's formative years in India with her mother did not establish that her welfare could be served only by remaining here.

Directing the mother to travel with the child to the US by December 31, 2026, the court said t...