PRAYAGRAJ, April 19 -- The Allahabad high court has held that a father, as the natural guardian of a Hindu minor, cannot be accused of "illegal detention" for taking custody of his child-even forcibly-unless such action violates a court order.

In an order dated April 10, a bench of Justice Anil Kumar-X dismissed a habeas corpus petition filed by the mother, terming it non-maintainable.

The petitioner alleged that her estranged husband had forcibly taken away their two minor children at gunpoint in 2022 and had kept them in "illegal detention" since then. She further submitted that despite filing multiple applications before various forums seeking custody, no effective action had been taken.

Relying on the high court's recent ruling in ...