Woman ‘held hostage’ by family in Bihar produced before Bombay High Court by Pune police

As per the petition, when the woman went to Bihar to be with her parents, her mobile phone was allegedly taken away from her. She managed to access someone else’s phone to drop a message to her friend about her situation. The friend filed a criminal writ petition in this regard to request that she be brought back.

The Bombay High Court on May 29 issued a writ of habeas corpus (a writ that seeks the production of a person before a court) for the Pune district police to produce the woman before it. The responsibility fell on the Amegaon police as she had been staying within their jurisdiction.

Zine said the team that went to Bihar comprised Assistant Police Inspector Priyanka Gore, Head Constable Vinayak Padale, and woman Constable Nilima Jadhav. “The woman was in her home in the village of Ujiarpur in Samastipur district of Bihar. The team arrived early in the morning of June 2. There was resistance from the woman’s family as well as the local villagers. They did not want to hand her over. But with the help of the local police, we managed to get the woman and bring her to Mumbai in time for her to be produced before the court,” he said.

During the hearing before the bench of Justices Dr Neela Gokhale and Firdosh Pooniwalla, the woman was asked whether anybody, including her parents, was threatening her. “She categorically stated that she is residing in Pune at her free will, and she is not under any threat or pressure from anybody to reside separately from her parents. She also stated that at present, she is not in contact with her parents, and hence, there is no question of her parents threatening her presently,” the court order said.

While disposing of the case, the court allowed both the woman and her friend to approach them in case further help is necessary.