Child custody case: Allahabad HC directs Maharashtra DGP, Pune CJM to declare father absconder
Lucknow bench of Allahabad high court also orders attachment of the father’s property , emphasising the urgency of securing his appearance
The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court has directed the Maharashtra director general of police (DGP) and the Pune chief judicial magistrate (CJM) to initiate proceedings under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) to declare a man an absconder after he repeatedly failed to produce his three-year-old child before the court in a habeas corpus plea filed by the child’s mother.
Justice Rajeev Singh, presiding over the vacation bench, on June 12 also ordered the attachment of the father’s property under Sections 84 and 85 of the BNSS (corresponding to Sections 82 and 83 of the CrPC), emphasising the urgency of securing his appearance. The court listed the matter for the next hearing on August 1, 2025.
The petitioner, the child’s mother, had approached the court last year alleging that the father, originally from Ayodhya and currently residing in Pune, had taken away the child illegally from her lawful custody and denied her access to the child. She maintained that only she could care for the child due to the child’s age and well-being.
The court expressed strong displeasure over the father’s conduct, noting that although he appeared on some earlier dates, he later began evading the court.
Despite multiple directions, he has failed to present the child, prompting the bench to issue a non-bailable warrant (NBW) on a previous occasion.
However, when Pune police attempted to execute the NBW, they found the father missing, and a missing person report was filed by his mother.
The court further ordered the senior registrar to communicate its June 12 order/ directions to the Maharashtra DGP and the Pune CJM for immediate compliance.
