Two girls allegedly confined abroad by Swami Nithyananda says no objection to appear before Gujarat High Court via VC

Two girls alleged to be in 'wrongful confinement' of controversial self-styled godman Swami Nithyananda abroad, recently told the Gujarat High Court that they have no objection to appear before the Court via video conference [Janardhana Ramkrishna Sharma vs State of Gujarat]..Senior Advocate BB Naik, who appeared for the two girls, informed the Court that his clients have no objection to appear before it through video conferencing.A division bench of Justices NV Anjaria and Niral Mehta proceeded to record Naik's submission in the order but did not pass any order directing the two girls to appear."Senior Advocate BB Naik who appears for the corpora volunteered to make submission that though the corpora have no objection as such to appear before the Court through video conferencing arrangement, which may be envisaged in the facts of the case, at the same time it was submitted that the Court may first consider and decide their preliminary objection as regards territorial jurisdiction to try and entertain the present habeas corpus petition," the bench noted in the order passed on February 6. The Court was hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by the father of the two girls way back in November 2019, alleging that the authorities have done little to bring back the girls or to even connect with them in Jamaica's Kingston, where they are allegedly kept in confinement.The plea by the father was filed seeking to know the whereabouts his daughters. A directive was also sought for bringing them back to India. He claimed that his two daughters went missing under 'mysterious circumstances' in November 2019.He alleged that Swami Nithyananda, who is a respondent in the petition, has a major role in this case where his daughters were forcibly taken away and enticed for illegal purposes..The Court said in its order of February 6 that in order to decide the case, it would be necessary to know the precise place where the two girls are staying and the details as to whose company and custody they happen to be."It is to be stated that the information relation to the precise place where the corpora have been staying and the details as to in whose company and custody they happen to be, are the information necessary for the purpose of present proceeding. There is no gainsaying to the such information when furnished would help the Court in the process of consideration of the matter," the bench said.The lawyers then submitted that no further details were available and they would try to procure more information before the next date of hearing.The Court then adjourned the hearing for February 27.The Court during a previous hearing held on January 12, had noted that several orders were passed in the past by various benches of the High Court, yet it did not yield anything fruitful."...it is incumbent on the part of the authorities to file their affidavit in reply and to put forth their stand forthright indicating the efforts they had put in to trace corpuses," the bench had said, while ordering all the authorities including the Ministry of Home Affairs, to file their affidavits. .[Read Order]