MAHRUKH IQBAL Vs. UT OF J & K

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Ms. Tanushree (IPS), Superintendent of Police, East Zone, Srinagar, is personally present before the Court alongwith Mr. Sachit Sharma, SDPO, Sub-Division, Nehru Park; Mr. Sajad Assad, SHO, Police Station, Nehru Park; and Mr. Umaid Majid, Sr. Prosecuting Officer.

(2.) Facts of the case are narrated in detail in order of this Court dated 31.08.2021. Those need not be reiterated. It would suffice to say that the petitioner approached the Court with this petition, agonizingly yearning for recovery and custody of her a few days' old female child, who was born on 07.08.2021 after the petitioner had undergone C- section at JLNM Hospital, Srinagar, and allegedly taken away from her by the private respondents herein (here in-laws) on 11.08.2021 when she herself had been locked in a room in the matrimonial home at Vakil Colony, Nishat, Srinagar. She herself was recovered from the house by Women's Police and was taken to Women Police Station, Rambagh. On 27.08.2021 respondent no.5, Mr. Zahoor Ahmad Shah, who is a practicing Advocate of this Court, undertook to produce the child before the Court at 4.30 PM. An order to that effect was, accordingly, passed. But he failed to turn back. Thereafter, on 31.08.2021, when the case was again taken up for consideration, private respondents 5, 6 and 7 personally appeared before the Court. They categorically refused to part with the custody of the child in favour of the petitioner. This Court passed appropriate directions to the Police for recovery of the child and posted the matter on 01.09.2021. However, the child could not be recovered. Then the case was posted on 03.09.2021. Yet again, the child was not recovered. The reports of the Police concerned depicted that the matter, apparently, was not as simple as it was thought to be. Appropriate directions were made by the Court on these two days, including coordinating Cyber Police with the efforts to trace the private respondents and recover the child.

(3.) Today, in terms of the previous order, the petition has again come up for consideration before this Court. The report of the Registrar Judicial states that on 05.09.2021 (Sunday) at 05.20 PM Ms. Tanushree, SP, East, SDPO, Nehru Park, and SHO, Police Station, Nehru Park, after recovering the infant and after conducting her medical check-up and other formalities, produced her before him whereafter her custody, in compliance to the orders of this Court dated 27.08.2021, 31.08.2021, 01.09.2021 and 03.09.2021, was handed over to to the petitioner, Ms. Mahrukh Iqbal, who was duly identified by her counsel, Mr. Areeb Javed Kawoosa, Advocate, and that to this effect the petitioner's statement was recorded wherein she, inter alia, undertook to take due care of her child.