Varun Malhotra v. the State of NCT of Delhi and Ors.
Case brief
What is this about?
Cross-border parental child custody; writ of habeas corpus (W.P.(CRL) 2808/2025, Delhi High Court, reserved 17.02.2026, decided 11.03.2026) by father for return of minor son 'V' from mother's custody in India to Canada — dismissed. Maintainability of habeas corpus in inter-parental custody disputes; custody with natural guardian mother not per se illegal detention; refusal to enforce interim return order of Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Canada through habeas corpus; comity of courts; foreign custody order only one factor; welfare of child paramount; habitual residence; wrongful retention; alternate remedy under Section 25, Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 (GP No. 1/2024 pending before Family Court, Rohini; petitioner's Order VII Rule 11 CPC maintainability application pending); parens patriae jurisdiction; disputed questions of fact unfit for summary writ adjudication; backdrop of FIR No. 1044/2023 under Sections 498A/406/34 IPC and domestic violence complaint; Sunaina Rao Kommineni, 2025:DHC:4483-DB distinguished; Nithya Anand Raghavan, (2017) 8 SCC 454 and Tejaswini Gaud, (2019) 7 SCC 42 applied; Sarita Sharma, (2000) 3 SCC 14 and Veena Kapoor, (1981) 3 SCC 92 relied on; Dhanwanti Joshi and V. Ravi Chandran referred; Bench: Navin Chawla and Ravinder Dudeja, JJ.