Disposed¶18

Ajay Pal v. the State (Nct of Delhi) and Ors.

Delhi HC2 Jul 2026W.P.(CRL)/1783/2026

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Delhi High Court division bench (Navin Chawla & Ravinder Dudeja JJ., 02.07.2026); habeas corpus writ petition dismissed/disposed without relief; concurrent jurisdiction declined where age-determination proceedings pending before Allahabad High Court; minor's marriage/custody; Medical Age Determination Report age 18-19 years; FIR No. 43/2026 PS Hasayan Hathras UP; Article 226 Constitution; Section 528 BNSS 2023; liberty to approach Allahabad High Court; preliminary investigation age report to be furnished to petitioner.

What did the court decide?

No writ of habeas corpus issued; writ petition disposed of with liberty to the petitioner to approach the Allahabad High Court; respondents to hand over to the petitioner a copy of the preliminary investigation report on Ms. XXX's age, for use in any such proceeding if initiated. ¶18

Ajay Pal Vs the State (Nct of Delhi) and Ors. — Writ and Judicial Review | Delhi HC (2026)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

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Issue for consideration

Whether a writ in the nature of habeas corpus should be issued for production of Ms. XXX, the minor daughter of the petitioner, before the Court. +1 more

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Court's answer

The Court declined to exercise its discretionary jurisdiction in the writ petition because proceedings on the same issue were already pending before the Allahabad High Court.

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Ratio / Principle

It was left open to the petitioner to approach the Allahabad High Court for redressal of his grievances.

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Key takeaways

This Court did not itself decide the minority question, noting that the issue is pending adjudication before the Allahabad High Court, which has found Ms. XXX to be between 18 and 19 years on the Medical Age Determination Report.ratio¶15

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Writ petition (W.P.(CRL) 1783/2026) under Article 226 of the Constitution of India read with Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, seeking habeas corpus production of Ms. XXX, the petitioner Ajay Pal's minor daughter. Ms. XXX appeared in person and stated she resides with her husband of her own free will. The Court noted the petitioner's reliance on an MCD Primary School certificate (Annexure P-1) but found the age issue pending before the Allahabad High Court, which on the Medical Age Determination Report found her to be between 18 and 19 years, and noted FIR No. 43/2026, P.S. Hasayan, District Hathras, filed at the petitioner's behest. Declining to exercise its discretionary jurisdiction given the pending proceedings, the Division Bench disposed of the petition, leaving the petitioner free to approach the Allahabad High Court; the respondents were to hand over a copy of their preliminary age-investigation report to the petitioner for use in any such proceeding.

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$~1

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

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- W.P.(CRL) 1783/2026

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AJAY PAL .....Petitioner

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Through: Mr. Aftab Hussain and Ms. Anita, Advs.

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versus

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THE STATE (NCT OF DELHI) AND ORS .....Respondents Through: Mr. Sanjay Lao, St. Counsel (Crl.) with Ms. Priyam Agarwal, Mr. Aryan Sachdeva and Mr. Abhinav Kr. Arya, Advs. Ms. XXX in person.

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CORAM:

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HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE NAVIN CHAWLA HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAVINDER DUDEJA O R D E R

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% 02.07.2026 1. The present Writ Petition has been filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India read with Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, seeking issuance of a Writ in the nature of Habeas Corpus for production of Ms. XXX, the minor daughter of the petitioner, before this Court.

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Pursuant to our order dated 15.06.2026, Ms. XXX has appeared before us in person. She states that it is out of her own free will and volition that she is residing with her husband and that she does not wish to go back to the custody of the petitioner, her father.

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Though the petitioner contends that Ms. XXX is a minor, and in this regard has placed reliance on Annexure P-1 to the petition which

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This is a digitally signed order.

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The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 06/07/2026 at 10:36:15

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is a certificate issued by the MCD Primary School, we find from our earlier order dated 15.06.2026 that the said issue is also pending adjudication before the Allahabad High Court which has considered the Medical Age Determination Report of Ms. XXX and has found her to be between the age of 18 to 19 years. We also find multiple FIRs with one being registered at Police Station Hasayan, District Hathras, Uttar Pradesh being FIR No. 43/2026 at the behest of the petitioner himself.

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Given the fact that proceedings are already pending before the Allahabad High Court on the same issue, we decline to exercise our discretionary jurisdiction in the present Writ Petition. Instead, we leave it open for the petitioner to approach the Allahabad High Court for redressal of his grievances.

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The learned counsel for the respondents submits that certain preliminary investigation was done to determine the age of Ms. XXX. He fairly submits that a copy of the said report will be handed over to the petitioner, which the petitioner may use in the said proceeding, if initiated.

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The Writ Petition is disposed of in the above terms.

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NAVIN CHAWLA, J

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RAVINDER DUDEJA, J

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JULY 2, 2026/Arya/nj/as

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This is a digitally signed order.

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The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 06/07/2026 at 10:36:15

Ajay Pal v. the State (Nct of Delhi) and Ors.

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Ajay Pal v. the State (Nct of Delhi) and Ors.

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

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What the court decided

Issues for consideration

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