60-year-old woman moves HC for custody of live-in partner 'detained' by his sister

Ahmedabad: A 60-year-old woman has approached the Gujarat high court seeking custody of her live-in partner of 30 years, with whom she also has a son. The petitioner claimed that her partner's sister had wrongfully detained him and was not allowing her to interact with him.According to the petition, the woman had been living with the man in the Isanpur area of Ahmedabad since 1996. The man's health has been deteriorating for some time. She received a phone call from the man's sister, who lives in Sughad near Koba Circle, in Feb, requesting that he be sent to her house for some time. However, the woman claimed that since Feb 26, she has had no communication with her partner. She tried to contact him and bring him back to Isanpur, where he had been undergoing treatment at Family Care Hospital for the past year, but his sister allegedly did not allow him to speak to her.The petitioner approached the Isanpur police and the city police commissioner in April. When she received no response, she filed a habeas corpus petition urging the high court to free her partner from his sister's custody.Based on the petition, the high court directed the police to bring the man before the court to ascertain his wishes. He was produced before the court on April 27, and the judges asked him where he wanted to live. The court noted in its order: "He was brought before this court by the police authority. It appears that he is very slow in answering the questions put to him by this court. However, he expressed his desire to accompany the petitioner herein, with whom he has been in a relationship."After the man told the court that he wanted to go with his live-in partner, the sister's counsel, Anvesh Vyas, objected to the petition. He contended that the petitioner was married to another man and was interested only in his client's property.Considering the man's health condition, the high court directed the police not to trouble him by repeatedly bringing him to court. Further hearing has been posted on June 11.