Habeas Plea Not A Tool To Trace Husband Evading Maintenance; Family Court Can Initiate Coercive Measures: Allahabad HC

A bench of Justice Siddharth and Justice Vinai Kumar Dwivedi noted that it is for the Family Court concerned to initiate all coercive measures in such cases to secure the presence of the husband.

The bench thus dismissed a habeas plea moved by an estranged wife seeking a direction to trace, arrest, and produce her husband, who has been evading warrants in a maintenance execution case.

In January 2021, the Family Court in Azamgarh directed the husband to pay maintenance to his wife and daughter; however, he has been appearing in execution proceedings, and his whereabouts are unknown.

The bench was apprised that he is actively avoiding the payment of maintenance arrears, which amounted to Rs. 3,44,000 as of January 13, 2026.

In her petition, the wife prayed for a writ of habeas corpus directing the respondent authorities to produce her husband before the HC or the Principal Judge of the Family Court in Azamgarh.

She further prayed that upon production, his custody be handed over to the Family Court to proceed with recovering the maintenance arrears.

The petitioner also sought a departmental inquiry into police officials' deliberate failure to execute the warrants.

Furthermore, she also sought exemplary compensation of not less than Rs. 5,00,000 for the gross violation of her fundamental rights and mental agony. She also prayed that criminal contempt proceedings be initiated against the authorities for wilful disobedience of court orders.

Her counsel relied upon a Division Bench judgment of the Madras High Court in the case of MP Nagalakshmi vs The Deputy Commissioner Of Police 2019. The bench, however, noted that in this case, the detenue was in the illegal custody of the petitioner's father-in-law, which justified the order to produce him.

However, the bench further noted that, in the present case, the husband's whereabouts are unknown.

The bench stated that, merely because the husband is evading a warrant issued by the Family Court for payment of maintenance to his wife and daughter, a direction in the nature of habeas corpus cannot be issued.

Adding that the family court may initiate coercive measures, the bench dismissed the plea.