SHARAFUDHEEN V.T. Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner is the husband of the alleged detenue. He seeks issuance of a writ of habeas corpus to cause production of the alleged detenue, on the premise that she is under illegal detention of her father/fifth respondent. The petitioner would aver that he married the alleged detenue, pursuant to a deep love affair, on 26/4/2022. They belong to different religions and due to the possible objections from their families, their marriage was got registered under the Special Marriage Act. However, from 12/5/2022 onwards, the detenue is not contacting the petitioner and she has been illegally confined by her father/the fifth respondent. Ext.P2 complaint preferred by the petitioner before the jurisdictional police evoked no response and, hence, the writ petition is filed.

(2.) As per order dtd. 19/5/2022, we directed the third respondent/S.H.O to get a statement of the alleged detenue by a Woman Civil Police Officer, without the presence of the parents or any other family members of the alleged detenue. Such statement is produced before us, wherein the alleged detenue would state that the marriage before the Sub Registrar, Kuttippuram was registered without the knowledge of their parents; that the detenue thought of accompanying the petitioner after one month, since her mother was alone in their house; that both the families, who came to know about the marriage, are not willing to accept them; that the parents of the petitioner would never permit them to live together; that the detenue is seriously apprehensive of her safety at the house of the petitioner and that she is not under any illegal detention of her parents. The alleged detenue would state that she was not subjected to any torture, whatsoever. Even when the alleged detenue would express that she is desirous of living with the petitioner, she fears that she would be ill-treated by the parents of the petitioner.

(3.) We see that the alleged detenue is ambivalent in her stand and she prevaricates as between her desire to be with the petitioner on the one hand, and her serious apprehension and fear of being ill-treated by the parents of the petitioner, on the other hand.