SEETA DEVI Vs. MATA PHER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HABEAS Corpus Writ Petition No. 4056 of 1997 and HABEAS Corpus Writ Petition No. 8049 of 1997 are being disposed of by a common order. Sri Kamal Krishna who has appeared for the petitioner In Case No. 4057/97 and Sri Z. K. Hasan who has appeared for the petitioners in Case No. 8049/97 have been heard.

(2.) THE allegations in Case No. 4056/97 are that Smt. Seeta Devi and Mahendra are residents of the same village and they fell in love with each other and decided to marry. Both are stated to be major. It is alleged that they got their marriage registered before the Sub-Registrar on 28.9.96 and it is further alleged that Smt. Seeta Devi is being confined in the house of opposite parry No. 2 who is related to her father Mata Pher, opposite party No. 1.

(3.) THE earliest case on the point is Smt Vidya Verma v. Dr. Shiv Narain Verma, AIR 1956 SC 108, in which it has been held in paragraph 7 that the violation of the right to personal liberty by a private individual is not within the purview of Article 21. THErefore, a person whose right to personal liberty is infringed by a private individual must seek his remedy under the ordinary law and not under Article 32. This was a case filed on behalf of the daughter against her father.