S (Private Law: Fact Finding) (No.1), Re
[2024] EWFC 156 (B)
SM v PM
6 July 2023
[2023] EWHC 3446 (Fam)
High Court
Mom said Dad abused her for years. A judge looked at all the evidence – photos, texts, witness statements – and believed Mom. Dad said Mom was lying, but the judge didn't believe him. The judge said Dad was abusive and Mom was justified in taking the kids to India to escape.
Key Facts
- •Proceedings concern two children, aged 10 and 5, habitually resident in England before being taken to India by their mother without the father's consent.
- •The mother alleged years of domestic abuse (physical, sexual, emotional, coercive control) by the father.
- •The father denied abuse and alleged the mother's claims were motivated by her family's wish for him to join their business or her desire to return to India.
- •A fact-finding hearing took place with cross-allegations of domestic abuse.
- •The children were in India at the time of the hearing, accessed via video link.
Legal Principles
Burden of proof is on the party making the allegation; standard of proof is the balance of probabilities.
None specified, general family law principles.
Findings must be based on evidence, not speculation; memories fade and can be affected by emotion.
None specified, general family law principles.
Demeanour of witnesses should be considered cautiously, especially in emotionally charged cases.
Re M Children [2013] EWCA Civ 1147.
Hearsay evidence is admissible, but its weight is for the court to determine.
None specified, general family law principles.
A finding that a person lied about one thing does not mean they lied about everything else.
R v Lucas [1982] QB 720; R v Middleton [2000] TLR 293; Re H-C (Children) [2016] EWCA Civ 139; Wakefield Metropolitan District Council v R & Others [2019] EWHC 3581 (Fam).
Definition and elements of domestic abuse, including coercive and controlling behaviour.
Practice Direction 12J; Re H-N and others [2021 EWCA Civ 448; F v M [2021] EWFC 4.
Outcomes
The court found in favour of the mother on the allegations of domestic abuse.
The judge found the mother's evidence to be more credible and supported by contemporaneous photographic evidence and other documentary evidence, while rejecting the father's evidence as largely fabricated and lacking in independent corroboration.
The father's allegations against the mother were rejected.
The judge found the father's allegations to be largely fabricated and unsupported by evidence. The court found the father's claims about the mother's family's motives to be untrue.
The court found that the father had physically and sexually abused the mother.
The court considered the mother's evidence, contemporaneous photographs, and the father's inconsistent accounts and lack of credible witnesses. The court found the mother's account compelling, despite inconsistencies and delayed reporting which the court attributed to the abusive nature of the relationship.