The Madhya Pradesh High Court has dismissed a habeas corpus petition seeking the release of a girl from a One Stop Centre after finding that she was still a minor based on official birth and school records. The Court also directed the Director General of Police (DGP) to examine the conduct of the investigating officer and the school principal over alleged suppression of crucial documents.
Background of the Case
The petitioner approached the High Court claiming that the girl had already attained majority and was being kept illegally at the One Stop Centre in Guna. He relied on an earlier trial court judgment that had acquitted him after granting the benefit of doubt regarding the girl's age.
During the hearing, the girl stated that she wished to live with the petitioner. However, her parents asserted that she was still a minor and produced several official records, including birth certificates and government documents, all showing her date of birth as 10 February 2009. The Court then called for the original school admission records and the police case diary for verification.
Court's Observations
A Division Bench of Justice G. S. Ahluwalia and Justice Anuradha Shukla found that the school's original admission register initially recorded a different date of birth, but the entry had been officially corrected in September 2015 to 10 February 2009 based on supporting documents.
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The Bench noted that the school principal later issued a certificate based on the earlier, uncorrected entry instead of the amended records. It also observed that the investigating officer either failed to collect relevant educational records from the girl's parents or did not place them before the trial court.
The Bench observed,
"It appears that the Investigating Officer as well as the Principal... played fraud on the Court by suppressing the material documents with a solitary intention to facilitate the accused by raising a doubt regarding age of corpus."
The Court further recorded that every official document placed before it including birth certificates and records under the Ladli Laxmi Yojana consistently mentioned the girl's date of birth as 10 February 2009.
Court's Decision
Holding that the girl is still a minor for the purpose of the present proceedings, the High Court ruled that she cannot be handed over to the petitioner. It directed that she shall continue to stay at the One Stop Centre, Guna, until she attains majority, after which she will be free to decide where and with whom she wishes to live.
The Court also directed that a copy of the order be placed before the Bench hearing the pending criminal appeal arising from the earlier acquittal. Additionally, it instructed the Director General of Police to decide within one month whether disciplinary or other action should be initiated against the school principal and the investigating officer in light of the observations made in the order.
With these directions, the writ petition was disposed of.
Case Details
Case Title: Ravi Prajapati v. State of Madhya Pradesh and Others
Case Number: Writ Petition No. 23395 of 2026
Judge: Justice G. S. Ahluwalia and Justice Anuradha Shukla
Decision Date: 7 July 2026
