Man's plea seeking to produce 3-yr-old daughter in HC dimissed

The Gujarat High Court has dismissed a petition filed by a man seeking that his three- year-old daughter, who was kept in an orphanage by his divorced wife and later given up for adoption, be produced before the court.

A bench of Justices S R Brahmbhatt and A P Thaker rejected the plea on Monday, saying the child was not under any "illegal detention".

The man got married in 2015 and the couple had a daughter in December 2016.

In June 2017, the couple got divorced following various differences between them.

The girl's custody was given to her father as the mother was not ready to take care of her, the petitioner said in his habeas corpus (present the person before court) plea.

Thereafter, the man said he was made to sign an "MoU" with his divorced wife, as per which the custody of the child was given to the mother.

The petitioner said, as per the MoU, he would never claim custody of the child.

He said, however, after taking custody of the daughter, his divorced wife became untraceable, he said.

The man later approached a family court seeking the child's custody, but it was rejected.

He then moved the high court with his plea.

The girl's mother, in her response, told the high court that the child was handed over for adoption to a couple without the consent of her biological father.

She also said that she had initially kept her daughter in an orphanage which gave the girl for adoption after an order of the Child Welfare Committee.

The girl's father claimed the child was in "illegal custody" of the couple who adopted her.

The Child Welfare Committee, however, said the girl was not in any illegal confinement, and she was given up for adoption after following due procedure and getting order from the court.

The child's biological father also sought a DNA test of the girl, which the court said "shows the petitioner has some suspicion regarding the paternity of the child".

The petitioner failed to demonstrate that his daughter was "illegally detained by anyone", the court said.

"The child is not under any illegal confinement, therefore, this petition with a prayer for issuance of writ of habeas corpus is not maintainable," it said.

The court said the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act-2015 provides complete mechanism for custody of the child, and the Child Welfare Committee is competent to pass an order in this regard.

"If there is any grievance against such order, remedy of appeal is also available," the court said in its order.