Woman aware of daughter's whereabouts files habeas corpus plea, Delhi High Court imposes Rs 10k costs

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has imposed costs on a woman for filing a habeas corpus plea to see her daughter despite knowing her whereabouts and not disclosing the complete facts before the court.

A bench of Justices Pratibha M Singh and Amit Sharma dismissed her plea with Rs 10,000 costs and said such a remedy was meant for assisting citizens over genuine cases of missing children or instances where a person's safety and security was under threat.

"The facts of the present case do not disclose such a scenario. Such a petition is being misused by litigants like the petitioner, who are merely trying to bring their matrimonial disputes by way of a habeas corpus petition to court that too without disclosing the true facts," a bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Amit Sharma said on December 17.

The woman approached the high court claiming she was tortured by her husband's family and had left the matrimonial home but when she returned to see her daughter in October, she was not allowed to meet her.

A police status report however revealed a different picture claiming the woman left her matrimonial home on January 10 and a missing complaint was filed by her husband.

Following the complaint, police officials along with her family members and in-laws went to Mumbai looking for her and found her in a hotel with another person.

The woman did not dispute these facts when confronted in court and her counsel said he was not fully aware of the situation.

The husband's counsel submitted the child was safe in his custody, being looked after by the paternal grandparents.

The woman's counsel said she met her daughter on her birthday in August, but this fact was not mentioned in her petition.

"This fact has also not been mentioned in the petition and an impression is sought to be given that the whereabouts of the daughter are not known. The present petition is an abuse of the process of law and the same is dismissed with costs of Rs 10,000 to be deposited with the Delhi High Court Legal Services Committee by the petitioner within 2 weeks...," the bench said.