HC pulls up police for minor girl's marriage

Pulling up police for not taking proper action on a complaint of 'kidnap' of a minor girl, who went on to marry a man of her choice, Madras High Court today deprecated the practice of weddings taking place in police stations with the blessings of the officials.
Closing a Habeas Corpus Petition filed by the father of the 17-year-old girl of Coimbatore district, who is in an advanced stage of pregnancy, a Division Bench comprising Justices S Rajeswaran and A Arumugaswamy, directed that she be kept in a government women's home till attaining age of major after she declined to go with her parents.

It directed the Jurisdictional DSP and Inspector to ensure her safety and all medical facilities at her own cost.
The girl's father filed the HCP seeking to produce her in court after police allegedly failed to act on his complaint that his daughter was missing since December 31, 2012 and he suspected she had been kidnapped by the 20-year-old man.
During the hearing on Sep 3, the court was informed that the girl had married the man and was residing at Bangalore.
Subsequently, after the couple approached the DSP,he sent them to her husband's home on coming to know of her pregnancy.

The bench observed this has to be deprecated and amounted to contempt.

The court also flayed the practice of police conducting marriages in police stations and suggested that complainants arraign them as one of the parties with other accused in such cases.
The case was registered only under 'Girl Missing' and not altered to kidnap despite the father's complaint.
Noting that failure by police to take effective steps on the complaint has ended up in marriage of a minor girl, not permissible in law, the judge said it has to be censured.
In such cases, the Bench said police must take coercive steps to trace the culprits in the paramount interest of the minor girl.

Lapses committed by authorities would indirectly encourage these type of crimes, which have to be nipped in the bud, the bench said.