HC pulls up inspector for forced captivity of a woman, child at center for victims of trafficking

The Dharwad bench of the Karnataka High Court has imposed a cost of Rs 1 lakh each on a police inspector and a rehabilitation center for victims of trafficking at Belagavi for forcefully housing a 22-year-old married woman and her three-year-old daughter.

Coming down heavily on Sunil Balasaheb Patil, the police inspector of Mal Maruti police station in Balagavi for his act of impunity, Justice N S Sanjay Gowda said it is not for the police to barge into a marital relationship to engage in moral policing.

The petition was moved by the woman when there was no action even after writing to the Belagavi commissioner of police. The petitioner was married in 2017 and after some differences with her husband she left home with her daughter May 3, 2021. Upon a person missing complaint filed by the husband, the inspector attempted to reconcile the differences.

When she refused to go back to her husband, the inspector sent her to a shelter called “Ujjwala Scheme” for prevention of trafficking, rescue and rehabilitation of victims of trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation. The petitioner was in the shelter for nearly five months. “It is quite shocking that an Inspector of Police decided to send a 22-year-old mother along with her 3-year-old daughter to a shelter which was meant to house victims rescued from trafficking and to those who were sexually exploited. This act of the Inspector indicates complete lack of sensitivity and humanity on his part,” the court said.

It was also informed to the court that during a counseling session at the centre it was recorded that she had an affair with a neighbour. The court observed that the police officer was trying to prevent her from having access to the outside world, more importantly to the said neighbour.

“It is to be kept in mind that if a spouse chooses to lead an adulterous life, the other spouse has been conferred with certain rights which can be enforced in a court of law. However, it is not for the police to barge into a marital relationship that was full of discord and try to impose its sense of justice and attempt to engage in moral policing,” the court said. The court however said that it is open for her husband to initiate appropriate action and seek to enforce his rights and that nothing expressed in the order shall be construed as rendering a finding on any aspect of the marital life.

The court directed the registry to invest the cost amount in a fixed deposit in the name of the daughter of the petitioner until she attains the age of majority.

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