HC Asks Centre, Delhi Govt to Bring Back Minor Girl Taken to Nepal by Married Man

The Delhi High Court has directed the Centre and the AAP government to take steps to bring back from Nepal a minor girl who was taken there by a man known to her family after allegedly marrying her even though he was already married and had a child.

A bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rajnish Bhatnagar said the case involves several crimes of which the man may be guilty of as the girl was a minor and he was already married.

"The State (AAP government) is, therefore, directed to take steps to get back the minor, and prosecute the man at the earliest. The State shall initiate steps in coordination with Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), without any delay. We direct the State, as well as the MEA, Government of India, to act without any delay in this matter," the court said.

The order came on a habeas corpus plea moved by the girl's mother who had alleged that no satisfactory action was taken by the police after registration of the FIR on March 1 and sought direction to the agency to find her daughter.

The woman had contended that her daughter went missing on February 29 and she feared that the girl might have become a victim of human trafficking.

She had also said that she suspected the man - Vinay - who used to live in their colony earlier and later moved to Gurugram, of being responsible for her daughter's disappearance.

Delhi Police, represented by Delhi government standing counsel (criminal) Rahul Mehra and advocate Chaitanya Gosain, told the court that the woman never mentioned the man's name when she lodged a complaint and only later expressed her suspicion regarding him.

Mehra also told the court that the man and the girl were traced to Nepal through his family members in Delhi and during the investigation it was also revealed that the man was already married and had a child here.

His family members told the police that he had reached Nepal with a girl whom he has claimed to have married, Mehra also told the court.

Thereafter, police had managed to get the mother and daughter connected on the man's phone, the agency said in its status report.