Custody orders cannot be made rigid and are capable of being altered keeping in mind the needs and welfare of the child at various stages of life, the Bombay High Court said, directing the family court to hear afresh an application filed by a man seeking to be appointed as legal guardian of his minor son after his former wife remarried.

A single bench of Justice Neela Gokhale in the order of May 4 noted that matters of custody of children are sensitive issues that require an appreciation and consideration of the nature of care and affection a child needs in the growing stages of life.