A family court in Gujarat's Surat city on Monday (December 22, 2025) stayed 'diksha' (religious initiation) of a seven-year-old Jain girl after her father filed a plea claiming his estranged wife had gone against his wishes and decided that the child should embrace monkhood.
Family court judge SV Mansuri granted a stay on her 'diksha', which was scheduled on February 8, 2026, in Mumbai.
"The court granted our plea for an interim stay on the girl's 'diksha' and kept further hearing on January 2. It has asked the mother to file an affidavit stating that the child will not take part in the ceremony," petitioner's lawyer Samapti Mehta said.
The court was informed that the woman had left her husband's house nearly a year ago following a dispute on this issue, and took her daughter and son to live with her parents.
On December 10, the girl's father had approached the family court seeking her custody, claiming his estranged wife had decided against his wishes that the child should take 'diksha' to become a monk.
