The paramount consideration of the welfare of the infants and the emotional upheavals that can be caused by environmental changes must be given significant weight in determining custody arrangements.

1. These Civil Miscellaneous Petitions are the aftermath of a Full Bench judgment of this Court in O. P. No. 71 of 1968 reported in 1969 KLT. 174. One of the questions considered in that judgment was with whom, the father or the mother, the custody of two infants, Konstanze born on the 15th July 1964, and Thomas Markus born on the 22nd February 1966, should be entrusted in exercise of the jurisdiction of this Court as parens patriae, in the best interests and for the welfare of the infants. We then came to the conclusion that the custody must be with the mother subject to certain conditions mentioned in Para.27 of the judgment which we may extract:

an anxious consideration of all the aspects we have come to the conclusion that we must entrust the children to the petitioner, the mother. As we indicated, we have to introduce sufficient safeguards for the enforcement of the further orders of this Court. The safeguards that we consider that are necessary in this regard are the following:

1. The petitioner will execute a bond to this Court to produce the children whenever ordered by this Court to do so.

2. An undertaking from the German Consulate authority in Madras that they will render all assistance possible for the implementation of any order passed by this Court from time to time within the frame-work of the German Law will be produced by the petitioner.

3. The petitioner will obtain and send a report from the Parish Prient within the Parish in which they propose to live every three months to this Court giving sufficient details about the children, their health and welfare and send a copy thereof to the father.

4. The petitioner will inform the Registrar of this Court the address of her residence from time to time and any change of address will be immediately notified.

5. She will not take the children outside West Germany without obtaining the previous orders of this Court excepting when they are brought to this country as directed in this order.

6. Once in three years, she must bring the children to this country for a minimum period of one month at her own expense. At that time, the father will have access to the children on terms and conditions to be directed by this Court when the children have reached this country. The three years period will be determined from the date on which the children are taken by the mother from this country. They will be brought to India earlier as directed by the Court at the instance of the father provided that it is not within a year from today, if the father is willing to meet the expenses for the trip from Germany to India and back for the mother and children.

7. The father, if he is visiting Germany, will be allowed access to the children on terms and conditions ordered by this Court on motion by the father intimating his desire to go and see the children and requesting for permission for access.

. When the children are brought to India at the end of 3 years the whole question of custody may be reviewed suo mote by this Court or at the instance of the father or mother and the present order maintained, modified, altered or cancelled."

2. The infants left India under the custody of the mother in April 1969. So under condition No. 6 in Para.27 of the judgment they were due to be brought to India in April 1972. Also, under condition No. 3, the mother was obliged to obtain and forward, once in every three months, reports from the Parish Priest within the Parish in which the mother and children lived, giving sufficient details about the children, their health and welfare, with a copy to the father.

3. On the ground that the above conditions in Para.27 of the judgment bad not been honoured by the mother, an affidavit dated 4th June 1972 was filed in this Court, along with the petition C.M.P. No. 10913 of 1972, on the 5th July 1972. This affidavit was sworn to at Louisville, Kentucky 40218, U.S.A Somewhat inconsistent with the concluding part of the affidavit requesting this Court to take steps to