Can a 7-year-old choose monkhood? Surat court puts diksha on hold

A family court in Gujarat’s Surat has stayed the proposed diksha (religious initiation into monkhood) of a seven-year-old Jain girl, following a dispute between her parents over the decision of girl’s initiation towards monkhood.

Family court judge SV Mansuri granted a stay on her 'diksha', which was scheduled to be part of a huge religious event on February 8, 2026, in Mumbai. It further directed the mother to file an affidavit stating that the child would not participate in the ceremony until further orders.

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The father, who approached the court under the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890, sought to be appointed the girl’s legal guardian, arguing that his estranged wife had unilaterally decided to initiate the child into monkhood despite her young age.

Father challenges consent to diksha

The father further claimed that the child, being only seven, was incapable of making an informed decision. He also alleged that the girl had been taken to religious gatherings and left alone at Jain monks’ ashrams in Ahmedabad and Mumbai without his consent, sometimes without permitting him to meet her.

According to the petition, the couple, married in 2012, have been living separately since 2024 after the dispute intensified, with the mother leaving the matrimonial home with their two children and allegedly making her return conditional on agreeing to the diksha.

In response to the court’s order the child’s mother has submitted an affidavit and also produced photographs and documents disputing father’s claim that the decision was taken without his consent.

Mother submits photos disputing claim

According to reports, during the latest hearing, the mother contested her husband’s assertions, submitting photographs and evidence showing the father and his family members present at an earlier religious gathering in October, when permission for initiation was sought from a Jain acharya.

She told the court that the father was fully aware ofand had consented to the process, arguing that if he had objections, he should have raised them with religious authorities rather than approaching the court.

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Responding to the photographs, the father clarified that his presence at the event was due to pressure from his wife and was limited to seeking blessings, insisting that no date or formal decision on diksha had been finalised at the time.

He maintained that he learnt of the final diksha date only later, prompting him to seek court intervention in what he described as the child’s best interests.

Initiation stayed pending judicial review

He told the court that while the couple had discussed diksha earlier, they had agreed it should be considered only after the child attained maturity.

With both sides advancing conflicting claims, the court has postponed the initiation, citing the child’s age and the need for judicial scrutiny. The matter has been posted for further hearing on January 2.

The diksha in question is part of a mass initiation ceremony scheduled in Mumbai in February 2026, where 59 aspirants — including the seven-year-old, the youngest, and a 71-year-old, the eldest - are to be initiated.

Surat courts have previously intervened in similar cases, including staying the diksha of a 12-year-old boy in a family dispute over custody and consent.

(With agency inputs)