Allahabad HC: Father’s custody not illegal detention unless it violates court order

The article reporting the Allahabad High Court's order is published, outlining the court's reasoning and background facts of the case, including the 2022 incident and the court's finding that the father is the natural guardian.

A bench of Justice Anil Kumar-X dismissed the mother's habeas corpus petition as non-maintainable. The court held that the father is the natural guardian and that, even if custody is alleged to be forcible, it does not amount to illegal detention unless it violates a court order. It relied on Tejaswini Gaud v. Shekhar Jagdish Prasad Tewari to say habeas corpus is maintainable only when custody is illegal or without lawful authority, and examined Section 361 IPC, as well as Sections 6 of the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956 and 4(2) of the Guardians and Wards Act. The court noted that the children, both over five years old, had been living with their father since 2022 and found no exceptional circumstances showing illegality or detriment.

The petitioner alleged that her estranged husband forcibly took away the couple's two minor children at gunpoint in 2022 and has kept them in 'illegal detention' since then. She also contended she filed multiple custody applications before various forums, but claimed no effective action was taken.