Madras HC cautions against casual implication of boy’s relatives in elopement cases

The Madras High Court has expressed its reservations against the knee-jerk tendency of the police to implicate parents or relatives of the boy in cases involving the elopement of underage couples..In an order passed on Thursday, the Bench of Justices CT Selvam and N Sathish Kumar cautioned that such inclinations may sometimes amount to a social wrong..The Bench was hearing a Habeas Corpus Petition filed by the parents of a 17-year-old girl who had eloped with a 19-year-old boy. Following registration of a complaint by the petitioners, the police had proceeded to arrest the boy’s mother..The mother of the boy was subsequently lodged at the Central Prison for Women at Salem. The police informed the Court that a confession made by the mother revealed her involvement in the elopement..The Court, however, ordered that the mother be released on bail, particularly given the tendency to accuse the parents/relatives of boys without a second thought in cases of elopement. The Court observed that such casual action would amount to a social wrong at the hands of the Police..“As this Court notes that all too frequently parents and relatives of boys are without, a second thought, arrayed as accused in cases registered on boys and girls going missing and most commonly owing to love affairs and they immediately are taken into custody. .In many a case, this would amount to a social wrong at the hands of the Police Agency, who very raison-de-etre is serving a social cause.”.The Court has directed that the order be forwarded to the Director General of Police of the State, with a view to sensitizing the police against such wrongful action. The police was also ordered to make all efforts to trace the missing girl..However, it was emphasised that the order does not endorse any blanket prohibition, but rather sounds a cautionary note in proceeding against the relatives of an accused..“This Court is not to be understood as informing that in no cases, shall relatives of accused be proceeded against. This Court only wishes to impress upon the need for care and caution before doing so.”.Read Order: