New Delhi, Apr 27 - The Delhi High Court today refused to grant a non-resident Indian the custody of his two minor children, ignoring a New Zealand's court's order to their mother living here to hand them over to the man.

A bench of Justices V K Jain and B D Ahmed denied the New Zealand-based man the custody of his children, holding their welfare "paramount" and more important than the "principle of comity of courts", requiring courts of one country to show respect and courtesy to courts of another country.

"The welfare of the minor is the paramount consideration, even in a case involving principle of comity of courts," said the bench.

"Having given due regard to the order passed by the New Zealand Court asking the children's mothers to place both children in its custody, we are of the view that the relief sought in this petition should not be granted since it will not be in the interest of the children to send them back to New Zealand," it added.

It also a cited an apex court ruling which said "comity of courts simply demands consideration of any such order issued by the foreign courts and not necessarily their enforcement."

The court's order came on a New Zealand-based man, seeking custody of his two minor children living here with his estranged wife, ion the basis of the foreign court's order.

The high court denied him the children's custody, also taking into the account the past records of his misbehaviour with them and their mother and said it would not be safe for the children to live with him in a foreign land. PTI