New Delhi, Oct. 22 -- 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 the decision rested primarily on the child's welfare, while the circumstances in which she was brought to India and the need to respect the orders of a competent foreign court further supported the conclusion. "The welfare of the child has remained the governing consideration throughout," said the bench, adding that the principle that a parent should not benefit from their own wrongdoing was relevant only after the child's welfare had been fully considered. Senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi, along with advocate Prabhjir Jauhar, appeared for the father. The dispute arose after the parents, who had married and established their matrimonial home in the US, separated and initiated divorce and custody proceedings there. In August 2022, a California court, after hearing both sides, granted them joint custody and shared parenting, with an equal division of time with the child. It also restrained either parent from taking the girl out of California without the other parent's written consent or an order of the court. Barely two weeks later, on September 8, 2022, the mother left the US with the child and travelled to India....