The court was told her father had earlier made a complaint in Rajasthan, where she works, alleging her kidnapping and illegal confinement.The Delhi High Court Wednesday issued a notice to the Rajasthan government through its Resident Commissioner here, as it noted with concern its state police action of taking away a 26-year-old woman from the national capital on Tuesday in a criminal case despite she being stated to be a victim of offences mentioned in the FIR registered there.
“We are perplexed to note that even though she was not the named accused, she has been taken into custody by the Rajasthan police statedly against her will. Her statement could have been recorded before the competent court in Delhi itself, instead of removing her from Delhi,” the division bench of Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Rajnish Bhatnagar said in an order.
Directing the Rajasthan government to produce her through a video link before the court on Thursday, the bench also asked it to ensure no harm is caused to her while she is detained in custody. It also said the custody “prima facie, appears to us, to be illegal” and asked the state to ensure her mobile is returned to her and that no harm comes to her from her parents or other relatives.
According to the petition, filed by a lawyer on behalf of the woman, Sheena Choudhary, before the High Court, she was taken away by Rajasthan Police on Tuesday from Delhi while she was having lunch in Jamia Nagar with her friends.
The court was told her father had earlier made a complaint in Rajasthan, where she works, alleging her kidnapping and illegal confinement. She was picked up in connection with that case, the court was told. She is being moved from one place to another in Rajasthan and her mobile phone has been taken away to disable her from contacting any person or seeking any assistance, the petition said.
On November 20, Choudhary, an IIM-Bangalore fellow, working in Dholpur, Rajasthan, left for Delhi, alleging her family was planning to forcibly take her away and get her married without her consent. On November 21, she met DCP (New Delhi) Dr Eish Singhal, and submitted a letter saying, “My family is forcing me to get married. When I refused, they threatened that they would take me away forcefully and stop my job and further studies. Due to the perceived threat, I left Dholpur of my own free will.”