The Indian Supreme Court jailed a Kenyan man in a ruling that ended a decade-long child custody case.
Through a verdict issued on Friday, November 4, the Indian apex court sentenced the man to one year in prison.
In what set precedence in contempt of court cases in the Asian country, the apex court also slapped him with a Ksh3.7 million fine (Rs 25 lakh).
The Kenyan businessmen allegedly refused to obey court directives that granted the child's mother visitation rights.
It was also established that he moved to a Kenyan court seeking an injunction against the ground rules set during the hearing.
While issuing their verdict, the two-judge bench led by Chief Justice Uday Umesh Lalit observed that the Kenyan deliberately and with no clear intention committed acts of contempt.
The judgment came months after the Supreme Court directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to track the father and bring the 11-year-old son back to India.
Before the case escalated, the Kenyan man allegedly secured court orders from a High Court in Kenya to uphold his right of custody.
However, the Supreme Court dismissed his injunction, arguing that it was a forgery.
"It is well settled that a person who makes a false statement before the Court and makes an attempt to deceive the Court, interferes with the administration of justice and is guilty of contempt of court," the ruling published by the Times of India read in part.
"Though the instant proceedings can be taken to a logical conclusion and order of sentence can be awarded even in his absence, we give the final opportunity for him to present himself before this court on July 22, 2022, at 3.00 pm," the court added.
The Kenyan man was sued by his wife in 2012 after their divorce.
