A parent cannot be held guilty of kidnapping his or her own child, held the Punjab and Haryana High Court recently while quashing a complaint accusing a woman of kidnapping her child from the residence of her in-laws.
The Court ruled that in the absence of any prohibition by the order of a competent court, a father cannot be booked for taking away his own minor child from the custody of the mother.
The Allahabad High Court added that live-in relationships do not have any "protective umbrella under any law" except that adults have a right to live their own life and to that extent their personal liberty is protected.
The Andhra Pradesh High Court recently observed that if a Muslim father takes away his minor children from mother's custody then that will not amount to kidnapping as he is the lawful guardian under Muslim law.