In any proceeding under this Act, the court may, from time to time, pass such interim orders and make such provisions in the decree as it may deem just and proper with respect to the custody, maintenance and education of minor children, consistently with their wishes, wherever possible, and may, after the decree, upon application by petition for the purpose, make from time to time, all such orders and provisions with respect to the custody, maintenance and education of such children as might have been made by such decree or interim orders in case the proceeding for obtaining such decree were still pending, and the court may also from time to time revoke, suspend or vary any such orders and provisions previously made;
Provided that the application with respect to the maintenance and education of the minor children, pending the proceeding for obtaining such decree, shall, as far as possible, be disposed of within sixty days from the date of service of notice on the respondent.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 26
Section 26 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 confers wide discretionary powers on the court regarding the custody, maintenance, and education of minor children.
The paramount legal touchstone governing every order under Section 26 is the welfare of the child, which supersedes all technical parental proprietary claims.
In Section 26 proceedings, modern Family Courts actively discourage treating children as matrimonial chattels. Shared parenting plans, structured visitation rights, weekend access, and festival schedules are standardly incorporated into orders to ensure that the child maintains healthy emotional bonds with both parents, irrespective of bitter spousal discord.