Unable to contact girlfriend, man moves court: Grown up woman can chart course of her life, says HC

The court was hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by the woman’s boyfriend, after she allegedly stopped taking his calls and he was unable to trace her. According to the petition, filed through lawyers Hasnain Kazi, Swapnil Shah and Raeed Kazi, because of the differences between the woman and her mother, the woman shifted to Kolkata. In February 2017, she met a boy and fell in love with him. The couple thereafter shifted to Ahmedabad and started living together. Last Diwali, the woman went to Kanpur for a while to see her grandmother and other family members. Her mother was also present there.

According to the petition, the woman filed a complaint at Kanpur police station, alleging harassment from her mother. In April, the man rented a flat for the woman in Andheri West. The woman stayed there with an intention to sort out her issues with the mother. According to Hasnain, on May 12, the woman shifted to Mumbai and, five days later, when the petitioner tried to contact her, she was not reachable. He visited Mumbai to check on her, but she was not in the flat.

The petitioner visited the nearest police station and learnt that his girlfriend was being kept at a rehabilitation centre. The man inquired with the flat owner, who told him that the woman’s mother and brother had put her in a car and taken her away. The man then moved the High Court. During the hearing, the court asked the petitioner if he was willing to marry the woman. The petitioner told the court that he “wished to continue the relationship and still cared for the woman and loved her immensely”. He said he wanted to marry her. The man told the court that, within a period of two months, he will formalize the relationship.

A division bench of Justice S C Dharmadhikari and Justice Bharati H Dangre, on the statement of the petitioner and the woman to the police, said: “…it is evident that she is a grown-up lady. She has made her choice. She does not wish to go back to her mother. She would rather like to settle down with the petitioner.”

The court further said, in such circumstances, the petitioner is free to meet the woman at the rehabilitation centre and persuade her to join him.