July 27, 2020, Monday
Anjana Gopinath
The High Court of Madhya Pradesh, last week, stated that the writ of Habeas Corpus should be filed only in genuine cases. The Gwalior Bench of the High Court comprising of Justice G S Ahluwalia observed that Habeas Corpus cannot be entertained in order to settle the civil disputes of parties and that doing so will be a clear misuse of the lawful authority of the Court.
A petition under Article 226 of the Indian Constitution was filed before the Court in the nature of a Habeas Corpus. The primary allegation of the Petition was that the wife of the Petitioner is in the illegal confinement of the Respondents who also happen to be the parents of the Petitioner’s wife. It was also submitted before the Court that the wife of the Petitioner may be directed to appear before the Court so that she may make a statement.
The Court, while noting that the Wife of Petitioner is undisputedly residing with her parents, stated it cannot be said that she is in their illegal confinement. Consequently, the Bench opined that the Petitioner has failed to prima facie satisfy the Court that his wife is in illegal confinement of her parents.
The case titled as Neerendra Singh Rana v. State of Madhya Pradesh (WP No. 10212/2020), was heard on the 24th of July.
