Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Indore bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court has clarified that the extraordinary remedy of a writ of Habeas Corpus in child custody disputes can only be invoked in exceptional circumstances, where the detention of a child by a parent or any other person is demonstrably unlawful. It cannot, however, be used solely to enforce directions passed by a foreign court.

The ruling came in a case where a father sought repatriation of his minor daughter to Canada, alleging that his wife had wrongfully removed the child from his custody in defiance of orders issued by a Canadian family court.

He argued that the child’s entire upbringing had been in North America and that she should be returned to that environment.

A division bench comprising Justice Vijay Kumar Shukla and Ju

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