Puskar (Minor) Thru. His Father Pramod Kumar v. State of U.P. Thru. Secy. Deptt. of Home Lko. and 3 Others

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HABEAS CORPUS WRIT PETITION No. - 146 of 2026, High Court of Judicature at Allahabad (Lucknow Bench), Court No. 14, Subhash Vidyarthi J., decided 01-05-2026. Father Pramod Kumar (for minor Puskar, b. 21.07.2020) sought habeas corpus under Article 226 against maternal grandfather Ram Dev Prasad Rawat (respondent No. 4) and others including State of U.P.; mother Arushi died 17.07.2022 and the child has been with the grandfather since. Held: habeas corpus in child custody cases lies only where detention by a person not entitled to lawful custody is proved illegal and without legal authority (Tejaswini Gaud v. Shekhar Jagdish Prasad Tiwari, (2019) 7 SCC 42; Nirmala v. Kulwant Singh, (2024) 10 SCC 595); custody cannot be changed without detailed welfare inquiry on evidence; no interim visitation relief can be granted where the petition is dismissed at the admission stage, interim relief being ancillary to final relief (State of Udisa v. Madan Gopal Rugta, 1951 SCC OnLine SC 63; reiterated in Mangal Rajendra Kamathe v. Tahsildar, Purandar, 2026 SCC OnLine SC 297). Petition dismissed at admission stage with liberty to file a regular suit before the competent court for custody; interim access to be sought in the family court suit. Keywords: habeas corpus, child custody, guardianship, Article 226, Guardians and Wards Act 1890, interim relief, admission stage, visitation rights.