C.Ramanathan v. The Commissioner Of Police,
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
DATED : 18.07.2023
CORAM
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE M.SUNDAR and THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE R.SAKTHIVEL H.C.P.No.813 of 2023 C.Ramanathan S/o.R.M.Chandrasekaran .. Petitioner Vs.
1.
The Commissioner of Police Chennai City Police Chennai.
2.
The Inspector of Police W-19, All Women Police Station CSR No.27 of 2023 Adyar, Chennai.
3.
S.Meenakshi W/o.S.Sambandam 4.
S.Sellammai D/o.S.Sambandam 5.
S.Adaikkammai D/o.S.Sambandam ..Respondents Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying for issuance of a writ of habeas corpus to direct the respondents 1 and 2 herein to secure the petitioner's daughter xxxxx, aged 11 years from the illegal Page Nos.1/12
custody of the respondents 3 to 5 and produce her before this Hon'ble Court for the entrustment of the lawful custody to her father / sole nature guardian / petitioner herein.
For Petitioner :
Mr.N.Prateik For Respondents :
Mr.E.Raj Thilak Additional Public Prosecutor for R1 and R2
O R D E R
[Order of the Court was made by M.SUNDAR, J.,] This order will now dispose of the captioned 'Habeas Corpus Petition' [hereinafter 'HCP' for the sake of convenience and clarity].
2. This order has to be read in conjunction with and in continuation of earlier proceedings made by this Court on 21.06.2023 which reads as follows:
'Read this in conjunction with and in continuation of earlier proceedings made in the previous listing on 25.05.2023, which reads as follows:
'The petitioner is the father of the detenue, aged about 11 years. The detenue's mother passed away due to COVID19. After the demise of her mother, the detenue has been in the care and custody of her maternal grandmother and aunt. The Page Nos.2/12
petitioner has approached this Court after 11⁄2 years claiming that he is the natural guardian of the detenue and that he must be given her custody.
Taking into account the situation obtaining in this case, the petitioner is permitted to visit the detenue every Sunday, pending disposal of this habeas corpus petition. Further, this Court refers this matter to the Mediation and Conciliation Centre attached to this Court. The parties shall appear before the Mediation & Conciliation Centre on 05.06.2023.
Post on 19.06.2023.'
2. Today, the petitioner, senior counsel Mr.R.John Sathyan, instructed by petitioner's counsel on record Mr.P.Divakar, Mr.E.Raj Thilak, learned State Additional Public Prosecutor for Respondents 1 and 2 (official respondents), Ms.S.P.Arthi, learned counsel for Respondents 3 to 5 and the petitioner's daughter 'xxx' [we are masking the name and we shall be referring to the petitioner's daughter as 'minor child' for the sake of convenience and for obvious reasons] are present in Court. Pursuant to aforementioned earlier proceedings, mediation sittings were held in 'Tamil Nadu Mediation and Conciliation Centre under the aegis of this Court' ('TNMCC' for the sake of brevity) but this Court is informed that the same did not fructify into a settlement. We request TNMCC to send a report to this Court by next listing.
3. Today, both sides i.e., private parties on both sides Page Nos.3/12
submitted that it would be desirable to try mediation for a second time.
4. In the light of consent of both sides (private parties on both sides), the matter is now referred to Mediation. Before we do that we make it clear that fourth respondent will now stand excluded from the mediation proceedings. The reason is, we are informed that fourth respondent is residing in London, United Kingdom. Therefore, mediation will be qua petitioner on one side and Respondents 3 and 5, motherin-law and sister-in-law of petitioner on the other side.
5. As the matter is being referred to mediation, we refrain from saying anything about submissions made by learned counsel on both sides.
6. The earlier proceedings dated 25.05.2023 made by Hon'ble predecessor Bench will continue to operate.
7. The following order is made:
i) The captioned matter is referred to mediation and mediation shall be by Ms.D.Nagasaila, Advocate {Old No.123, New No.255, 3rd Floor, Hussaina Manzil, Angappan Naicken Street, Parrys, Chennai 600 001. (Mobile No:94440 83494) (E-mail: nagasailad@gmail.com)};
ii) The aforementioned learned Mediator has been agreed upon by both sides;
iii) It is open to aforementioned learned Mediator to hold mediation sittings either in Home office, her office, any other neutral venue or TNMCC if the need arises. TNMCC shall do the needful if a request in this regard is made by the Page Nos.4/12
learned Mediator;
iv) Both sides very fairly submitted that they would pay honorarium to the learned mediator and it shall be Rs. 50,000/- [Rupees Fifty Thousand only] by the petitioner and Rs. 50,000/- [Rupees Fifty Thousand only] by respondents 3 and 5 together (one lakh in all). Depending on the trajectory the matter takes, subject to consent of parties, this Court may consider further honorarium;
v) We request the learned Mediator to send a report to this Court as expeditiously as her professional work would permit, preferably within a fortnight from today i.e., by 05.07.2023.
List on 05.07.2023.'
3. Short forms, short references and masked references used in the earlier proceedings will continue to be used in the instant order also for the sake of convenience and clarity.
4. Today, Mr.N.Prateik, learned counsel on record for petitioner, Mr.E.Raj Thilak, learned Prosecutor for official respondents (respondents 1 and 2) and Ms.S.P.Arthi, learned counsel for respondents 3 to 5 are before us. Page Nos.5/12
5. Adverting to our earlier proceedings dated 21.06.2023, learned counsel for petitioner and learned counsel for respondents 3 to 5 submit in one voice that the mediation was productive and it has fructified into a memorandum of compromise dated 17.07.2023. To be noted, final report of learned Mediator dated 18.07.2023 together with memorandum of compromise dated 17.07.2023 has been placed before us and a scanned reproduction of the same is as follows:
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6. In the light of the narrative thus far, learned Prosecutor for a change has become formal party though this was originally a habeas drill on hand.
7. To be noted, we have scanned and reproduced the final report of learned Mediator and annexed memorandum of compromise at the common Page Nos.9/12
request of learned counsel for petitioner and learned counsel for private respondents 3 to 5.
8. We place on record our appreciation for learned Mediator for the effort and exercise.
9. All in all net sequitur is, there is a happy ending to what was originally started as habeas legal drill and curtains are drawn on the captioned HCP.
10. Captioned HCP disposed of as closed recording the aforesaid stated position of parties and the trajectory the matter has taken. (M.S.,J.) (R.S.V.,J.) 18.07.2023 Index : Yes / No Speaking / Non-speaking order mk Page Nos.10/12
To 1.
The Commissioner of Police Chennai City Police Chennai.
2.
The Inspector of Police W-19, All Women Police Station CSR No.27 of 2023 Adyar, Chennai.
3.
The Public Prosecutor High Court, Madras.
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M.SUNDAR, J., and R.SAKTHIVEL, J., mk H.C.P.No.813 of 2023 18.07.2023 Page Nos.12/12