MUHAMMED SHAN R. Vs. DISTRICT POLICE CHIEF

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This writ petition has been filed under Art. 226 of the Constitution of India, seeking a writ of habeas corpus directing respondents 1 to 4 to produce the body of the alleged detenue. who is stated to be under the illegal confinement of respondents 5 and 6, and to set her at liberty. It is averred in the writ petition that the petitioner who is aged 22 years and the alleged detenue have close acquaintance with each other and both of them decided to marry and live together after completion of their B.Teach course. Now, she is being illegally detained by her parents (respondents 5 and 6) to prevent her from getting married to the petitioner.

(2.) Rule 160 of the Rules of the High Court of Kerala, 1971, which deals with the affidavit in a writ of habeas corpus, mandates that an application for a writ of habeas corpus shall be accompanied by an affidavit of the person restrained stating that the application is made at his instance and setting out the nature and circumstances of the restraint. Going by the proviso to Rule 160, where the person restrained is unable, owing to the restraint, to make the affidavit, the application shall be accompanied by an affidavit to the like effect made by some other person and the affidavit will state the reason why the person restrained is unable to make the affidavit himself.

(3.) Chapter VI of the Rules of the High Court of Kerala deals with affidavits. Rule 75 of the Rules of the High Court of Kerala mandates that alternations, erasures and interlineations shall, before an affidavit is sworn or affirmed, be authenticated by the persons before whom the affidavit is signed, and no affidavit having therein any alteration, erasure or interlineation not so authenticated, shall, except with the leave of the Court, be filed or made use of in any matter. Therefore, going by Rule 75, any alterations, erasures or interlineations in an affidavit should be made before that affidavit is sworn or affirmed by the deponent concerned and not thereafter.