Mandula Sudhakar, v. The State Of Telangana,Rep. By Its Principal Secretary,
HON'BLE THE ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE DILIP B. BHOSALE AND THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE P. NAVEEN RAO Writ Petition No.12422 of 2016 Date:06.06.2016 Between:
Mandula Sudhakar, Shankarpally Village, Ranga Reddy District.
.....Petitioner And The State of Telangana, Represented by its Principal Secretary, Home Department, Hyderabad and others.
... Respondents
HON'BLE THE ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE DILIP B. BHOSALE AND THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE P. NAVEEN RAO Writ Petition No.12422 of 2016 PC:(Per the Hon'ble the Acting Chief Justice Dilip B. Bhosale) This Habeas Corpus writ petition, filed by one Mandula Sudhakar, seeks production of Smt. Afreen alias Shwetha, contending that she has been illegally detained by respondent No.6-rescue Home. Petitioner claims that he has married Afreen on 4.5.2015 and when they got married, she was eighteen years old. Respondent No.5 is the father of Afreen and, it appears, at his instance, a Crime bearing No. 91 of 2015 has been registered against the petitioner for the offence under Section 366 of the I.P.C. We do not deem it necessary to narrate the facts in detail in view of our long interaction with the parties and their parents in our chamber.
On 26.4.2016, in view of the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case, we had requested Padmasree Ms. Sunitha Kirshnan of Prajwala N.G.O. to interact with Afreen and submit her report. Ms. Sunitha Krishnan has accordingly placed her report on record. Observations drawn by her as mentioned in the report, read thus: "After speaking to Afreen and her father, the following are my observations:
1. It is pointless to hand over Afreen to her parents as she will run away once again to the said Sudhakar.
2. If the couple is reunited, it should be suggested to have proper civil marriage and also an assurance by the boy/Sudhakar that he will not force or suggest Afreen to convert as a Hindu.
3. There is a need to have a small sitting with both the families to ensure faith, practices are respected and Afreen's interest and welfare is assured.
4. Afreen should be motivated to complete her education through open
school."
In view thereof, on 1.6.2016, we had directed the parties to remain present in our Chamber today at 2.15 P.M. and we requested Ms. Sunitha Kirshnan also to remain present at that time. Today, in the chamber, Ms. Sunitha Krishnan, in our presence, interacted with Afreen once again. We also interacted with her, her parents, the petitioner and his parents individually and jointly. The father of Afreen stated that he married in 1997 and within less than one year, Afreen was born and the birth date given by him of Afreen is 25.2.1998. If the date given by the father is correct, she completed 18 years in February, 2016. In view thereof, we asked the petitioner as to when and where they got married, and whether his parents were present. His reply to this question was not satisfactory.
The petitioner and Afreen are determined to lead their life as husband and wife. The parents of the petitioner are ready to accept Afreen as their daughter-in-law. The parents of Afreeen, submit that they have no objection for the marriage only if the petitioner converts to Muslim religion. It is not possible and proper to ask either the petitioner to convert or Afreen to convert to Hindu religion. It is for them to decide. In this view of the matter, we are satisfied that the following order will meet the ends of justice: "1. Ms. Afreen is very particular and firm that she wouldl not like to go back to respondent No.6-rescue home. She, however, agreed to go with Ms. Sunitha Krishnan to the shelter home run by her N.G.O., namely, Prajwala. We allow Ms. Afreen to go with Ms. Sunitha Kirshnan to the shelter home run by Prajwala N.G.O.
, straight away from the Court.
2. Mr. Sharath, learned Special Government Pleader to inform respondent No.6-rescue home and get all formalities done for her release or transfer from respondent No.6-rescue home to Prajwala Shelter Home, within three days. Ms. Sunitha Krishnan has agreed to take Afreen straight away from the Court to her shelter home.
3. Petitioner shall take steps for getting married to Afreen under Special Marriage Act and shall complete the procedure within six weeks from today. Ms. Sunitha Krishnan shall allow Afreen to go with the petitioner after having satisfied about their marriage.
4. Respondent No.5, his wife or any other relatives of Afreen shall not obstruct the marriage of the petitioner and Afreen, and allow them to get married and lead happy married life. It is open to the petitioner, his parents or Afreen to seek police protection, if necessary, and in which case, the concerned police station shall extend all cooperation and provide security, if necessary.
5. It is needless to mention that neither the petitioner shall force Afreen to convert to Hindu religion nor anyone shall force the petitioner to convert to Muslim and they are allowed to practice their religion." We place on record, a word of appreciation for the assistance rendered by Padmasree Ms. Sunitha Krishnan in this case. The writ petition is accordingly disposed of. ____________________ DILIP B. BHOSALE, ACJ __________________ P. NAVEEN RAO, J 6th June, 2016 Pnb