In an order dated December 18, 2020, the Delhi High court slammed the Delhi Police for failing to register an FIR in a matter where the father of a Hindu girl had alleged that she was taken away by a Muslim man in an ‘organised manner’. The High Court ordered the State to trace the girl and produce her before the court.
A Bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rajnish Bhatnagar also ordered the investigation of the case to be transferred to the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) of Crime Branch, Delhi immediately after the registration of the FIR.
According to Live Law, the father of the girl had filed a Habeas Corpus petition before the court for production of her daughter who had gone missing on November 7, 2020. Allegedly a person named Syed Mustafa took her away from her residence. The girl’s father has alleged that she was taken to Kolkata by train the same day she was taken away.
The girl was B.Tech. and the Muslim man was a labourer
In his petition, the father said that his daughter is B.Tech by education while Mustafa is a labourer. He said that the father of Mustafa also went missing since the girl disappeared. The State, on the other hand, has stated before the court in its report that the girl has married Mustafa and that she has informed her family that she was happy and safe and did not want to be disturbed.
Court rebuked the SHO for not registering FIR
SHO Naraina submitted before the court that the FIR was not registered because a Nikahnama was produced showing that the Girl had married with Syed Mustafa. However when the court asked the authenticity of the Nikahnama, police said that it could not be verified despite efforts.
Expressing shock over the SHO’s inaction the Court rebuked him and said, “We are shocked that even in this background, he (SHO) did not think it proper to register an FIR and proceeded on the bald statement produced before him, wherein it is claimed that the girl has married Syed Mustafa. This is complete dereliction of duty on the part of the SHO concerned”.
The court said that at this stage, the court refuses to believe that the statements attributed to the girl were made voluntarily by her, and hence asked the police to produce the girl.
Ordering the girl to be produced before it the court said, “In case the Girl is traced, she shall be brought to Delhi and kept at Nari Niketan at least for four days before the next date so that she is not under influence of either the petitioner, or the persons with whom she is stated to have eloped and gone”. The court directed the SHO concerned to look into the aspect of threat assessment to the petitioner and family members and provide adequate security to them.
