'Wife Can't Be Treated As Chattel': Orissa High Court Imposes ₹50K Costs On Husband For Filing Habeas Corpus Plea In Matrimonial Dispute
The Orissa High Court has recently dismissed a writ petition in the nature habeas corpus filed by a husband and imposed an exemplary cost of rupees fifty thousand on him for litigating to secure custody of his wife, who had left matrimonial home out of her own volition due to marital disharmony.Terming the case to be a “classical example” of husband pressurizing wife of conjugal union...
The Orissa High Court has recently dismissed a writ petition in the nature habeas corpus filed by a husband and imposed an exemplary cost of rupees fifty thousand on him for litigating to secure custody of his wife, who had left matrimonial home out of her own volition due to marital disharmony.
Terming the case to be a “classical example” of husband pressurizing wife of conjugal union against her will through a habeas corpus petition, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Harish Tandon and Justice Murahari Sri Raman observed–
“Obviously, the wife is a major and capable of taking decision of her life and cannot be treated as a chattel in the hands of her husband. If she has decided to live apart for the alleged torture having perpetrated upon her, this forum cannot be used to secure her presence before this Court and/or in the matrimonial house. The moment the discordant relationship between the husband and wife grows, the allegation and the counter allegation started pouring and in a recent time the writ in the nature of habeas corpus is filed which cannot be said to be a genuine attempt but a device to settle the personal score.”
The petitioner-husband filed this writ petition praying for issuance of a writ in the nature of habeas corpus for production of his wife, who was allegedly abducted and detained by another person. The case was first heard on 09.06.2026 by a Vacation Bench which sought for instruction. When the case was taken up before the regular Bench led by the Chief Justice on 22.06.2026, an annexed document came to the attention of the Court where the petitioner himself admitted that his wife voluntarily left his conjugal company due to certain matrimonial disharmonies.
It was further asserted in the said document that the petitioner went to the house of another person, whom he categorized as an accused person committing an offence of kidnapping/abduction, and attempted to placate their matrimonial dispute by requesting the wife to come back to the matrimonial house but she denied to such proposal.
From the aforesaid averment, the Court failed to understand as to how the same would constitute the offence of kidnapping/abduction. It stressed that if the wife has left the matrimonial home following torture meted out to her, she cannot be treated as “chattel” nor could she be forced to submit herself to the custody of the husband.
The Bench raised concern about the growing influx of habeas corpus petitions filed by husbands to settle personal score with their wives by deceitfully invoking the writ jurisdiction of the Court.
“The wife has voluntarily left the matrimonial home which is also corroborated from the statement of the petitioner in Annexure-6, and, therefore, the petitioner has not come to the Court with the clean hand and rather created an illusory cause of action with the clever draftsmanship,” it added.
Accordingly, to discourage filing of identical petitions in the future, the Court imposed a cost of Rs. 50,000/- (rupees fifty thousand) on the petitioner which he was directed to deposit within a period of two weeks before the Odisha State Legal Services Authority (OSLSA).
Case Title: Shri Lambodar Patra v. State of Odisha & Ors.
Case No: WPCRL No. 71 of 2026
Date of Order: June 22, 2026
Counsel for the Petitioner: Mr. Subhransu Bhusan Mohanty, Advocate
Counsel for the State: Mr. Debashis Tripathy, Addl. Govt. Advocate
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Ori) 64
Click Here To Read/Download Order