If Wife Elopes With Another Man, Habeas Corpus Petition No Remedy : Madras High Court

The Madras High Court recently observed that no remedy under a habeas corpus petition would lie for the disappearance of a wife, who actually eloped with another man. The bench of Justice N Anand Venkatesh and Justice P Dhanabal was hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by a man seeking to produce the body of his wife and two kids, aged 3.5 years and 2 years, who were missing since March 6, 2026. While the court noted that it could not do anything about the eloping of the wife and the husband had to work out his remedies against her before the appropriate court, the court expressed concern regarding the two kids. “Insofar as the detenue, who is the wife of the petitioner is concerned, she seems to have developed a relationship with the third respondent. Therefore, if she chooses to go along with the third respondent, there is nothing much that can be done in a Habeas Corpus Petition and the petitioner has to necessarily work out his remedy gainst his wife before the concerned Court. However, this Court is more concerned about the two children, who have been taken away by the detenue,” the court said. The court thus directed the Inspector of Police, Uthumalai Police Station to find out the whereabouts of the wife and two kids and produce them before the Judicial Magistrate Alangulam as expeditiously as possible. The court also instructed that the petitioner, Murugan should be put on notice whenever the wife and kids are produced before the Magistrate. The court added that the Magistrate should record the statement of the wife, talk to the kids and ascertain from them and proceed accordingly. A report was also directed to be filed before the High Court. Murugan approached the court stating that his wife and two kids had gone missing suddenly on March 6th and despite his best efforts, he could not trace them. He then gave a police complaint before the Inspector of Police, Uthumalai Police Station and a “woman missing” case was registered on March 7th. Murugan argued that the police was not taking effective steps to find out the whereabouts of the detenues and there were in grave danger at the hands of the third respondent. The State submitted that the wife had developed an illicit relationship and had gone with the third respondent, also taking away the children. To this, Muruagan submitted that he was more concerned about the interest of his kids and requested that they be produced. Taking note of the submissions, the court directed the production of the wife and kids before the Judicial Magistrate and closed the plea. Counsel for Petitioner: Mr. V. M. Jegadeesha Pandian Counsel for Respondent: Mr. A. Thiruvadi Kumar, Additional Public Prosecutor Case Title: S Murgan v. The Superintendent of Police and Others Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Mad) 120 Case No: H.C.P.(MD)No.335 of 2026Click Here To Read/Download The Judgment

If Wife Elopes With Another Man, Habeas Corpus Petition No Remedy : Madras High Court

Upasana Sajeev

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