Madras High Court today directed the Inspector of a police station in Villupuram district and the officer in-charge of a child welfare home there to appear in court on October 29 to explain why they had not obtained any competent orders from any court before keeping a rescued minor girl in a child welfare home for a week.
The Division bench comprising Justice S Rajeswaran and Justice T Mathivanan stated this when a Haebeas Corpus Petition filed by the brother of a 16-year-old girl came up today.
The bench questioned the Sub-Inspector of Kallakurichi Policed station and the woman constable, who produced her in court today, if they had produced her in any court or procured competent orders from any court to keep her in the Don Bosco Home, to which both were unable to give a satisfactory answer.
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The bench then directed the officer-in-charge of the Home and the Inspector of Kallakurichi Police Station to appear before the court on October 29 to submit an explanation.
The matter relates to the girl who was reported missing after she went to school and did not return home on July 21.
The brother submitted that he had made enquries and come to know that she was kidnapped by a man and that his family were keeping the whereabouts of both him and the girl secret.
So he filed a complaint on July 28 and also requested police to take effective steps in securing his sister as he apprehended danger to her life.
Since no steps were taken till date, as a specially mentioned case it was taken up by the division bench today and the girl was produced by police before the court.
Besides her brother, her parents were also present in the court, which allowed her to go with them after she expressed willingness to do so.
At this juncture, the bench questioned police as to when they had secured the girl, to which they replied that they had done so last week and kept her in the home.
On being questioned under whose orders she was allowed to be kept in the home and whether she was produced before any Judicial Magistrate before being admitted, police were unable to give a satisfactory answer.
