Tripura High Court orders immediate custody restoration of a minor girl from a Tamil Nadu child care home to her mother, declaring the detention unlawful and directing state authorities to ensure safe return and child welfare supervision.
The Tripura High Court has ordered immediate restoration of custody of a minor girl to her mother, holding that her continued stay at a child welfare institution in Tamil Nadu was unauthorised and amounted to unlawful detention.
Allowing a writ petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution, a Division Bench comprising Justice T Amarnath Goud and Justice S Dutta Purkayastha directed respondent No.9, Hope House, to hand over the custody of the minor, Pratiti Chakraborty, to her mother, petitioner Smt. Prabha Rani Das, under proper acknowledgement.
The court also instructed the State government to depute a senior police officer to accompany the petitioner to bring back the child from the children welfare home in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, on or before February 15, 2026. All the respondents of the case based out Tamilnadu which include The Secretary, Government of Tamilnadu, The Chairman, Child Welfare Committee, The Collector, Vellore District, The Commissioner, Department of Social Defence, Tamilnadu, The Medical Superintendent, Christian Medical College, Vellore, and The Hope House, 3/188, Shanthi Nagar, Kandipedu Panchay had been directed to extend full cooperation to ensure compliance with the order. The expenditure for the process is to be borne by the petitioner.
The petition had sought directions for investigation into the alleged illegal and forceful detention of the petitioner’s minor daughter by the CMC Vellore authorities and the childcare institution, production of relevant records before the court, and a fair probe into a complaint earlier submitted before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kailashahar, in Unakoti judicial district.
The court noted that the minor had initially been treated by CMC Vellore and observed that the responsibility for her welfare rested with that institution. It held that the subsequent transfer of the child’s custody to the Hope House, was carried out without obtaining judicial permission, despite the matter being pending before the High Court since 2022 and the respondents having been put on notice.
Terming the action of the CMC Vellore as unauthorised, arbitrary and ultra vires, the Bench held that Hope House could not retain custody of the child without any order from the court, and that such custody amounted to unlawful detention of the minor.
The court also took note of the petitioner’s submission that she had suffered severe mental agony due to the prolonged separation from her daughter and that her husband, Dwaipayan Chakraborty, had died following mental harassment. It observed that the child was the petitioner’s last hope.
Warning of serious consequences, the court said non-compliance with its direction to hand over the custody of the minor forthwith would amount to wilful disobedience of its orders and could invite action against the concerned persons.
The Bench further directed that once the child returns to Tripura, the State authorities shall assess her physical and mental health condition and ensure proper supervision, if required.
Accordingly, the writ petition was allowed and disposed of.
Speaking on the issue, advocate Pujan Biswas who represented the petitioner along with others, said that the husband of the petitioner committed suicide due to the mental trauma he had endured due to the prolonged separation from his daughter.
The minor girl was initially admitted at CMC Vellore after treatment in various hospitals located at Agartala, Guwahati and Chennai. After diagnosis followed by the admission, the doctors at CMC Vellore informed the petitioner that the minor girl was suffering from colostomy disease.
The petitioner in her submission before the court also said that when she raised objections on the method of treatment which appeared wrong to her, she had been ousted and despite clearing all the bills the custody of the parents has not been restored. The hospital authorities even filed a case against the biological parents of the minor girl, raising questions on the authenticity of their parenthood.
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The Court was satisfied with the submissions of the petitioner and held that “The child is not a chattel or a ball that is bounced to and fro. It is only the child’s welfare which is the focal point for consideration.”
In the meantime, a team of officials also visited Tamil Nadu and interacted with the minor girl.
The petitioner was represented by senior advocate PK Biswas, P Majumder, R Nath and P Biswas.
