BHOPAL/JABALPUR: Madhya Pradesh HC has ordered an FIR under the Pocso Act against a man who filed a habeas corpus petition to find his "missing" minor daughter . When she was produced in court, however, she refused to go back to her father, accusing him of " sexual advances ", and said she would rather live with her female friend with whom she had run away from home.
The bench of Justice Atul Shreedharan and Justice Anuradha Shukla, in a recent order, sent the 17-year-old to Nari Niketan till she turns an adult. The court, however, said that the girl may have accused her father out of vendetta so police should not arrest him until necessary.
The girl went missing in April. Her father filed a habeas corpus plea after police failed to trace her despite an FIR in which he named a person who might be keeping her "hostage". Following an HC directive, police tracked her down and produced her in court on April 21, 2025.
In her statement before judges, she said her father had got her married to a person for Rs 1 lakh. She added that she doesn't want to live with her father because she doesn't feel safe. She alleged that he used to touch her inappropriately when she was asleep. He was always drunk and would misbehave with her, she said, adding she had runaway with a friend and wanted to live only with her.
The court, in its April 25 order, noted that the girl had levelled serious charges against her father hence police should register a case . However, he should be arrested only when police are convinced that the girl's charges hold water following probe, the bench said. Till she turns 18, the girl will stay in a 'Nari Niketan'. After that, she would have the liberty to decide what she wants to do.
The bench of Justice Atul Shreedharan and Justice Anuradha Shukla, in a recent order, sent the 17-year-old to Nari Niketan till she turns an adult. The court, however, said that the girl may have accused her father out of vendetta so police should not arrest him until necessary.
The girl went missing in April. Her father filed a habeas corpus plea after police failed to trace her despite an FIR in which he named a person who might be keeping her "hostage". Following an HC directive, police tracked her down and produced her in court on April 21, 2025.
In her statement before judges, she said her father had got her married to a person for Rs 1 lakh. She added that she doesn't want to live with her father because she doesn't feel safe. She alleged that he used to touch her inappropriately when she was asleep. He was always drunk and would misbehave with her, she said, adding she had runaway with a friend and wanted to live only with her.
The court, in its April 25 order, noted that the girl had levelled serious charges against her father hence police should register a case . However, he should be arrested only when police are convinced that the girl's charges hold water following probe, the bench said. Till she turns 18, the girl will stay in a 'Nari Niketan'. After that, she would have the liberty to decide what she wants to do.
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