Karnataka High Court imposes fine of ₹2 lakh on 72-year-old woman for filing plea to harass police by falsely claiming that they failed to trace her missing son

The High Court of Karnataka has imposed a fine of ₹2 lakh on a 72-year-old woman for filing a habeas corpus petition by falsely portraying that her son was missing and that the Bengaluru city police had failed to act properly on her complaint to trace him.

The court found that the petitioner, Maheshwari M. a resident of Indiranagar, was a proxy set up by her “missing” son Kriplani M., to harass the Indiranagar police.

While observing that the petition was filed with an ulterior motive by misusing the liberty granted under the Constitution, a Division Bench comprising Justice Anu Sivaraman and Justice Rajesh Rai K. has deprecated the petitioner’s conduct in approaching the court with unclean hands.

She had withdrawn her first petition on illegal detention of her son and later filed the present petition alleging that despite submitting a complaint to the State police chief, the police failed to trace him. It was also claimed that the Indiranagar police had earlier manhandled her son resulting in injuries.

After the High Court ordered notice to the police on her petition, sleuths of the Koramangala police station traced her son to a hotel in Chennai and produced him before the court.

Also, the police said that the call details records (CDR) pointed out that it was Mr. Kriplani who was behind the filing of the petition through his mother. The police said that he was in touch, over phone, with his mother, sister, and a friend, who in turn was in touch with the advocate, who had filed the present petition.

The Koramangala police also informed the court that Mr. Kriplani abused them when they went to the hotel asking him to appear before the High Court and they took the assistance of the Semmancheri police station in Chennai.

Mr. Kriplani had also allegedly assaulted a police officer of the Semmancheri station when they went to the hotel to ensure his production before the High Court of Karnataka and a First Information Report was registered against him in this regard, the police informed the court by producing the video footage of the alleged act of Mr. Kriplani at the hotel.

The Bench, however, refrained from making any further comments on the conduct of the parties and the advocate for the petitioner while cautioning that contempt of court proceedings would be initiated if the fine was not paid within the stipulated period.