Mediation Problem for Semi-Final Round

Mr. Rohan Salve and Ms. Shreya Mehta were classmates in school and college as both their
parents were in the armed forces. They were close family friends who eventually got married to
each other in 2004. They led a very happy married life initially and Ms. Shreya Mehta gave birth
to a daughter, Ms. Sania Salve, in 2007. Soon after the birth of their daughter, the couple began
to quarrel and argue frequently due to Mr. Rohan’s alcoholism and irresponsible behavior and
eventually got a divorce by mutual consent in 2018. Shortly after, Mr. Rohan Salve passed away
due to alcohol related issues in August 2018, leaving behind a devasted minor daughter and his
aged parents, all of whom live in Pune.
His parents, Dr. Chinmay Salve and Dr. Mrs. Namita Salve, are senior citizens and they have
worked as Doctors in the Armed Forces and both retired in the year 2017. They are of the
opinion that Ms. Shreya Mehta is unable to take care of Ms. Sania properly and she is not a good
mother as she has a loose moral character and is irresponsible and hence they have filed a
petition for custody and in the alternative access of Ms. Sania Salve in the Family Court of Pune
in December 2018. The grandparents are very wealthy, own multiple properties in Pune, and
have ample financial resources to provide Ms. Sania Salve a very comfortable life. Dr. Mrs.
Namita Salve is suffering from Stage-IV liver cancer and it is her last wish to have access to her
only granddaughter. The grandparents are eager to take responsibility of all of Ms. Sania Salve’s
expenses as well as her education and say that they are better able to take care of Ms. Sania.
They have not met their granddaughter, Ms. Sania Salve, since Mr. Rohan Salve’s funeral in
August 2018. They claim that Ms. Shreya Mehta has been denying them access to their
granddaughter, who according to them prior to 2018, used to spend every evening at their house
while her parents were working.
Ms. Shreya Mehta is working as a teacher for special children in Pune and keeps Ms. Sania Salve
with her neighbor, who runs a day-care, after Ms. Sania’s school. Ms. Shreya Mehta is not
earning enough to take care of all of her own and her daughter’s expenses and is barely able to
make ends meet with the few savings that her ex-husband had left for her and the daughter. She
tries to do her best to be a loving and caring mother. According to her, the parents of her ex-
husband are irresponsible and her ex-husband’s alcoholism stems from their irresponsible
conduct as parents. She further says that the parents of her ex-husband used to leave syringes and
other medical paraphernalia in their house unattended which she has caught her daughter playing
with and they also used to talk badly about their own son to Ms. Sania(i.e. her father) which
affected her very badly.
The minor daughter, Ms. Sania Salve, who is now 14 years old has expressly stated that she does
not want to live with her grandparents or even meet them and would much rather remain in the
custody of her mother.
The role of the mediator should be to ensure the paramount interest of the child.