A mother has been forbidden from going on holiday by a judge after her ex-husband and father of her six-year-old son objected, saying he feared he might never see them again.
The woman, who is in her 30s, insisted she had absolutely no intention of abducting her British-born son and keeping him in India, where she was born.
However, Judge Clifford Bellamy has come down in favour of the father and banned the mother's trip.
The father, also in his 30s, was born in Leicester and the mother has lived in the city for nine years since their arranged marriage.
However, the mother is now living alone with her son.
The Family Court heard the father was engaged in a running battle with his ex-wife over contact with their little boy.
All three have UK passports.
The mother told Judge Bellamy she was desperate to take her son to India to meet his wider family and "explore his cultural roots".
Denying any intention not to return to Britain, she said she no longer viewed India as her home.
The judge was told her son was doing well in an English school and that, for 18 months, she had been in a new relationship with a man who had a steady job in the UK.
He was also told that divorced single mothers were disapproved of in India.
However, Judge Bellamy said India had not signed up to the Hague Convention – which enshrines the international ban on child abduction.
If the mother failed to return to Britain with his son, the father would face a formidable challenge fighting his case through the Indian courts, the court heard.
Experts had reported that it was in the boy's best interests, culturally and emotionally, to form a strong relationship with his father.
Despite her new relationship and her British citizenship, the mother had no family ties in the UK and spoke only broken English, the court was told.
Blocking her holiday plans, the judge said there was "a risk" that she might try to keep her son in India.