POTA Vs. STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Nearly five months ago the curtain was raised in an eerie episode. On several dates, thereafter, variegated scenes came to be enacted in this court. Today the curtain must drop as the last scene of the drama, happily, was enacted by counsel and parties to bring the matter to a neat end. Before we proceed to the core of controversy we would like to record at the outset our thanks to the local Ramkrishna Ashram and place on record our appreciation of the assistance and co-operation which we received from Swami Vimuktanandji of the said Ashram.

(2.) The tussle is for the custody of the sweet child, who came before us on different dates, called by the petitioner Rekha, while the child herself has repeatedly given her name as Lata. We had occasions numerous to hear her alone and talk to her and also hear her and watch her in the presence of the counsel and the two contenders. She is definitely an intelligent child and we are definitely bound not to ignore her preference in this matter. She is aged about six years now and quite intelligent by any standard to express her mind and also about matters which relate generally to her welfare. Whatever that be, Pota, the petitioner, who claims that she is his child Rekha, has claimed her custody mainly on the ground that she was with him on 30-7-1985 and she was removed from his custody on that date by Agra police making it necessary for him to lodge a complaint in writing on 31-7-1985 with the Superintendent of Police, Morena. The said report is Annexure-1 to the petition and the other papers are a telegram, a photocopy of a Newspaper report and lastly a notice for demand of justice by the counsel on the State. This was done on 17-8-1985 though the petitioner came to thin Court praying for a writ of habeas corpus only on 30-10-1985.

(3.) On petitioner's prayer respondent No. 6, Fatehsingh, was later impleaded along with the Superintendent of Police, Agra, and Bachulal Verma, Sub-Inspector of Police, P. S. Jagdishpura, Agra, (respondents Nos. 4 and 5). On 12-10-1985, and later, on 4-10-1985, on specific prayer being made in that behalf by the petitioner we directed Fatehsingh and Bachulal Verma to produce the girl Rekha alias Lata in the Court. Because, Only later it was disclosed to us that it was Bachulal Verma who came with Fatehsingh and removed the girl from the petitioner's custody. Eventually, on 29-1-1986, the girl came to the Court with Fatehsingh. On that date, Sub-Inspector Bachulal Verma also came and the matter was heard in Chambers in the presence of the counsel and the parties. That day itself we requested Sri R.A. Roman, Deputy Government Advocate, to obtain medical opinion on the question of parentage of the child because Fatehsingh claimed that he was the girl's father, contesting petitioner's claim.