Japanese mom gets custody of daughters as father’s appeal dismissed

A court in Dhaka has dismissed an appeal of father – Imran Sharif, challenging a judgment which rejected his previous lawsuit that sought custody and guardianship of his two children from their Japanese mother. 

Dhaka district judge AHM Habibur Rahman Bhuiyan handed down the judgment on Sunday, upholding the previous order denying Imran’s lawsuit for custody. 

Shishir Monir, lawyer of the Japanese woman, said justice has been served through the judgment. The Japanese mother expressed her satisfaction as she retains the children’s custody. 

On the flip side, Imran Sharif's lawyer Nasima Akter expressed disappointment and declared to appeal in the High Court, challenging the judgment. 

According to court sources, the second additional assistant judge of Dhaka and family court judge, Durdana Rahman, dismissed Imran's case on 29 January.

He later appealed to the district judge court of Dhaka, challenging the judgment.

Imran Sharif, a Japanese citizen with Bangladeshi origin, married Japanese national Nakano Eriko  on 11 July 2008, and had three daughters together. Imran filed for divorce from Eriko on 18 January 2021. 

Later, he came to Bangladesh with two of their daughters on 21 February, while the youngest one remained in Japan.

In further development, Eriko came to Dhaka to regain custody of her two children and filed a writ with the High Court in August 2021, while Imran filed a separate writ to gain the custody of his youngest daughter. 

Imran also filed a separate lawsuit with the Dhaka family court in February, 2021, to get the youngest daughter. 

Hearing the writ petition, the High Court on 21 November issued an order granting custody of the two children to Imran, which prompted Eriko to seek a stay order from the Appellate Division. 

Disposing of the leave to appeal of Eriko, the Appellate Division in February last year passed its judgment, saying the two children will be in the mother’s custody until the lawsuit in the family court is settled. The father will be allowed to visit them. 

The court also said the children could not be taken out of the court’s jurisdiction (abroad) considering their well-being and other case related issues.

It also directed the family court to settle the case within three months of receiving the formal judgment.