Stories
Parents Cannot Force Adult Daughter to Live With Them: Allahabad HC
- •The Allahabad High Court ruled that parents cannot use habeas corpus petitions to force an adult daughter to live with them against her wishes.
- •Justice Sandeep Jain stated that a major cannot be compelled to reside with anyone against her expressed will, even if they are a parent.
- •The ruling came while dismissing a petition filed by Kalawati Devi seeking the production of her 25-year-old daughter, Kumari Pooja.
- •Pooja informed the court that she is living independently in Delhi by choice, is not in illegal detention, and refuses to live with her mother due to alleged abuse and mistreatment.
Key Questions Answered
The Allahabad High Court dismissed a habeas corpus petition, ruling that parents cannot use such petitions to force an adult daughter to reside with them against her expressed will. The court emphasized that a major is a competent person and remains at liberty to live at the place and with the person of her choice.
Kumari Pooja stated that she was living independently in Delhi of her own volition and was not in any illegal detention. She alleged that her mother's conduct towards her was not cordial and that she had frequently faced abuse and assault at her parental home.
Justice Sandeep Jain noted that a major individual cannot be compelled against her conscious and voluntary will to live with a particular person just because they are a parent. Because the daughter was a competent adult who clearly expressed her unwillingness to reside with her mother, the court dismissed the petition.
