Delhi HC Orders Release Of Adult Married Woman From Children's Welfare Home

The Delhi High Court on Friday ordered the release of a woman from a children's welfare home after it was found she is an adult married of her own will. Reports suggest the judgment comes following a missing complaint lodged by her father, who claimed she was a minor. The woman's husband approached the court seeking her release. The woman, allegedly 18 years old, has told the court she wants to stay with her husband.

According to Live Law, a vacation bench of Justices Anup Jairam Bhambhani and Manoj Kumar Ohri directed the woman's release during a videoconference hearing after she consented to reside with her husband.

Also Read: Andhra Pradesh Police Find Woman Who Went Missing From Airport After Kuwait Return

Background On The Case

The woman's father had reportedly filed an FIR under section 363 of the IPC at Wazirabad police station recently after she allegedly went missing. On December 25, when she was located, the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) ordered for her to be placed in Rose Udaan Care Children's Home for Girls in the capital.

The Hindu reports her 25-year-old husband filed a habeas corpus petition in court seeking her release. He presented a copy of his wife's birth certificate wherein her date of birth was June 17, 2002. Their marriage certificate, submitted with photos from the event, indicated they were married on December 18, 2020.

The bench said that, though her marriage certificate is yet to be verified, the woman must be released from the child's home after she consented during the videoconference hearing. The police have also reportedly been directed to provide safety to the couple. 

Also Read: Here's Why We Are More Likely To Do Stupid Things On Holidays

Missing Girls In India

India in recent times has reported a high number of missing women across the country. In a highly covered case from 2019, 11 girls had gone missing from a shelter home in Muzaffarpur, Bihar. Called the “house of horrors” the CBI was investigating the case in which the girls were feared to be dead. The home's owner Brajesh Thakur was in 2020 convicted along with other accused. Read more here. 

Earlier this year, a United Nations Populations Fund report said that India accounted for around 45.8 million of the world’s 142.6 million “missing females” over the past 50 years. “Missing females” are those whose numbers are reflected in sex ratio imbalances at birth as a result of gender-biased (prenatal) sex selection, combined with excess female mortality stemming from postnatal sex selection. Read more here.