BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT DATED: 16/02/2010 CORAM THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE P.MURGESEN AND THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE RAJA ELANGO H.C.P.(MD) No.75 of 2010 Anjula .. Petitioner Vs 1.The District Collector, Kanyakumari District at Nagercoil. 2.The Superintendent of Police, Kanyakumari District at Nagercoil. 3.The District Social Welfare Officer, Kanyakumari District at Nagercoil. 4.The Principal, Juvenile School of Justice, Tirunelveli, Tirunelveli District. .. Respondents Habeas Corpus Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India directing the respondents to produce the petitioner's brother Lungheuneng aged about 11 years before this Court and handover the custody to the petitioner. !For Petitioner ... Mr.C.K.M.Appaji ^For Respondents ... Mr.P.N.Pandidurai, Addl.Public Prosecutor for R1 to R3 :ORDER
(Order of the Court was made by
RAJA ELANGO, J.)
The petitioner has approached this Court to direct the respondents to
produce her brother by name Lungheuneng aged about 11 years before this Court
and handover the custody to her.
2. Learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that the detenu along
with other children are under the illegal custody of the third and fourth
respondents.
3. Learned Additional Public Prosecutor has submitted that the detenu is
not under any illegal custody. He further submitted that, originally, the detenu
along with 70 other persons were handed over to one Paul in Chennai, who was
running an orphanage and the said Paul, due to financial stress, forwarded the
children to one Shaji who is also running an orphanage at Kanyakumari. It is his
further submission that the District Social Welfare Officer, Kanyakumari
District at Nagercoil, inspected the place and found that there was no proper
infrastructure and that they are not running the said orphanage with proper
authority. Hence, the detenu in the present HCP along with other persons were
rescued from the orphanage run by the said Shaji and they were taken to Madurai
and presently, the detenu along with other children were forwarded to their
native places, with proper escort.
4. In view of the above submission of the learned Additional Public
Prosecutor, this Court is of the considered view that the action taken by the
District Social Welfare Officer in rescuing the children from the orphanage,
deserves to be appreciated. Also, in view of the stand taken by the respondents
herein, we find nothing survives in this Habeas Corpus Petition, but at the same
time, the petitioner is at liberty to approach the concerned authority in the
native place for custody of the detenu, by producing proper documents.
5. The Habeas Corpus Petition is disposed of accordingly.
KM
To
1.The District Collector,
Kanyakumari District at
Nagercoil.
2.The Superintendent of Police,
Kanyakumari District at
Nagercoil.
3.The District Social Welfare Officer,
Kanyakumari District at
Nagercoil.
4.The Principal,
Juvenile School of Justice,
Tirunelveli,
Tirunelveli District.