Srinagar, June 11 -- Srinagar- The Supreme Court on Thursday set aside key directions of the Bombay High Court that had ordered a multi-layered psychological evaluation of a minor girl at the centre of a custody dispute involving allegations of sexual abuse against her father, holding that children cannot be treated as "mere evidentiary objects" in legal battles between estranged parents.

The top court ruled that psychological or psychiatric evaluations of children should not be ordered routinely in custody, visitation or parental-access disputes and laid down a set of guidelines to protect minors from unnecessary trauma during judicial proceedings.

Dispute Stemmed From POCSO CaseThe case arose from a dispute between the parents of a mi...