According to court rulings, custody of a Hindu child up to the age of 5 years shall ordinarily be with…

Section 6(a) of the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act 1956 provides that custody of a minor who has not completed the age of five years shall ordinarily be with the "Mother". Under Section 13 the welfare of the minor is paramount, so this is a strong presumption rather than an absolute rule; the father, sister or grandfather have no such preference.

Current law: In proceedings within Uttarakhand Code Part 1, section 35(2) likewise makes the child's best interests and welfare paramount and ordinarily places a child below five with the mother. This provision operates within the Code's statutory scope and exemptions.