Notice to police to produce woman ‘confined’ at home
THE WOMAN WAS MARRIED BUT LEFT HER HUSBAND LAST MONTH FOLLOWING MARITAL DISCORD. SHE HAD FILED A CASE OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AGAINST HER HUSBAND
NEWDELHI:THE Delhi High Court has directed Delhi Police to produce a 24-year-old woman after a transman moved court seeking directions to the cops to produce his friend, who is allegedly being confined forcibly at her parents’ home.
The 38-year-old transman (who was assigned female gender at birth and identifies as a man) met the woman 18 months ago when he worked in an east Delhi salon. The woman was married but left her husband last month following marital discord. She had filed a case of domestic violence against her husband.
The woman, who began to live with the petitioner, was allegedly taken away by her parents against her wishes on November 6.
A bench of Justice Siddharth Mridul and Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal asked Delhi Police to produce the woman at the court on the next date of hearing, November 15.
The plea said the woman had voluntarily left her house on October 15, 2018, which was established by a letter she had left behind. She started staying with the petitioner after leaving her house.
The petition also said the woman wrote a letter to the police on October 16, 2018, explaining that she had left her matrimonial house voluntarily.
On November 6, 2018, the woman’s father went to the petitioner’s house along with other relatives and tried to emotionally blackmail his daughter to come along with her. When she did not agree, they forcibly tried to take her away, the plea said.
But she resisted all attempts and finally agreed to go the Jagatpuri police station in east Delhi with the impression that the police would protect her wishes as an adult. She asked the petitioner to come along with her to the police.
When they reached the police station, both the petitioner and her friend were surrounded by family members of the woman who forcibly took her to her father’s house, the plea said.
The petition said the police was a mute spectator and did not protect the woman. On the other hand, they (police) threatened the petitioner with arrest, it said.
On November 8, the petitioner called the women’s helpline of the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), asking them to intervene. The petitioner claimed that even though he did not get a call ever after the complaint, he got to know from some staff members that DCW had managed to speak to the woman.
The plea said the woman was too weak to get out of the bed but the DCW staff allegedly left her despite her unwillingness to stay at her father’s house. The matter would be now heard on November 15.