Hyderabad, June'04 : The Family Court of the State of New York has granted final custody of two great-grandchildren of late Andhra Pradesh chief minister N.T. Rama Rao to their father and paternal grandmother in the US.

The children were born in New York and have been residing here ever since the death of their mother, Kumudini, who was the granddaughter of Rama Rao.

Kumudini's parents in India wanted custody of the children after she died in 2000. The high court in Hyderabad, India, had said the children be produced before it to ascertain their preference.

But the Family Court of the State of New York has said the high court in Hyderabad had no jurisdiction over the custody of the two - Jay Viraj Prasad and Neal Krishna Prasad.

The court said they need not appear before the Hyderabad court and granted custody to their father Srinath Prasad and their paternal grandmother.

June' 2004