The Supreme Court has partially stayed a decision of the Delhi High Court directing the parents of a 23-year-old woman to pay compensation for forcibly picking her up from the residence of her music teacher and detaining her in a mental institution. The woman spent a day and a night in the institution.
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, in a recent order, said the parents need to pay 50% of the compensation amount. “The rest of the amount, as directed by the High Court to be paid by the parents, shall remain stayed,” the Supreme Court ordered, issuing notice in the case.
The High Court had found the forcible taking away of the woman and her detention in a private mental hospital a violation of her rights of choice, life, liberty and dignity as a person.
On June 11, last year, the woman was forcibly taken away from the Khirki Extension residence of her music teacher, with whom she had been residing since she turned 18. This was done at the alleged behest of her parents and brother, with the help of the police and an ambulance service.
She was allegedly kept at the hospital till the morning of June 13, 2017. Following the intervention by the High Court, she was produced before the court the same day. She then returned to the teacher’s residence.
In the present case, trouble for the woman began when she started to exercise her personal choice with regard to her career and consequently her place of residence.
