Bilaspur : The High Court of Chhattisgarh has dismissed a habeas corpus petition filed by a 20-year-old man seeking the release of his Bangladeshi wife and their infant son from Nari Niketan in Raipur.

A Division Bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal held that habeas corpus is maintainable only in cases of illegal detention. The Court found that the woman, a Bangladeshi national who entered India without valid authorisation, is in protective custody pending deportation and that her stay at Nari Niketan with her child is lawful and welfare-oriented.

The petitioner, who was earlier acquitted in a criminal case registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and POCSO Act, argued that his wife and child were being detained illegally. The State submitted that deportation proceedings are underway and that both mother and child are receiving proper care.

Relying on precedents including Kanu Sanyal v. District Magistrate, the Bench ruled that statutory or protective custody cannot be challenged through habeas corpus. Finding no illegal detention, the Court dismissed the plea.