The High Court has divided the custody of three children between their Japanese mother and Bangladeshi father amid a protracted legal battle.

Accordingly, the eldest and youngest daughters will live with their mother, Nakano Eriko, while the middle daughter will be with her father, Imran Sharif.

Nevertheless, both parents will be able to visit all their children.

On Tuesday, the court partially upheld Imran Sharif's appeal against a ruling by the Dhaka District Judge's Court, which had granted custody of the two elder children to their mother a year ago.

Senior lawyers Akhtar Imam, Rashna Imam, and Nasima Akhtar Lovely represented Imran, with Barrister Ajmalul Hossain KC and Shishir Monir appearing for Eriko.

The decision follows the Appellate Division's rejection of Eriko's request to take her elder and middle daughters out of the country on Mar 9 last year.

The Appellate Division also directed the District Judge's Court to resolve the custody issue within three months.

On Jan 29, 2023, the custody of the two children was granted to the Japanese mother by a family court in Dhaka.

The judgment noted the plaintiff (the children's father) could not establish the court's jurisdiction over the case, and since the family's last known residence was Japan, the case did not fall under the ambit of the Family Court Ordinance, 1985.