HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD HABEAS CORPUS WRIT PETITION No. - 1201 of 2026 Court No. - 73 HON'BLE SANDEEP JAIN, J. 1. Sri Neeraj Kumar Pandey, learned Advocate, has filed his vakalatnama on behalf of respondent nos.4 to 7 along with short counter affidavit filed on behalf of the respondents and the supplementary affidavit filed on behalf of the petitioner, which are taken on record. 2. By order dated 20.08.2026, the State as well as respondent nos.4 to 7 were directed to produce the corpus, Abu Turar, aged about four and a half years, before this Court. In compliance with the said order, the corpus has been produced before the Court by Sub-Inspector Swapnil, PNO No. 231235820, and Constable Arshad Khan, PNO No.244130046, Police Station Jajmau, District Kanpur. 3. This Court could not interact with the minor corpus, Abu Turar, as he is of very tender age. However, it was apparent from his conduct that he shares a strong emotional bond with his maternal grandmother and maternal uncle and appeared to be comfortable in their company. 4. This Court also interacted with the petitioner, Zohair Alam, who disclosed that he is working as an air-conditioning/fridge mechanic and earns approximately Rs.25,000/- per month. He further disclosed that, after the death of his first wife, Smt. Tahzeeb Fatima, on 20.02.2022, he solemnized a second marriage with Smt. Shah Bano. He assured the Court that he would take proper care of the corpus, provide him education in a decent school and make every endeavour to ensure that he grows up to become a responsible citizen of the country. Versus Counsel for Petitioner(s) : Mahesh Kumar Counsel for Respondent(s) : G.A. Abu Turar And Another .....Petitioner(s) State Of U.P. And 6 Others .....Respondent(s) 5. This Court also interacted with the second wife of the petitioner, Smt. Shah Bano, who gave an undertaking that she will take proper care of the corpus as her own child, ensure his education in a decent school and provide him with proper love, affection and upbringing. 6. This Court also interacted with respondent no.4, Smt. Tanzeem Fatima, who is the maternal grandmother of the corpus. She disclosed that she is not earning anything, that her husband has already expired and that she is dependent upon her sons for her livelihood. She stated that, being the maternal grandmother of the corpus and having his custody since infancy, she is entitled to retain the custody of the minor corpus. She has also admitted that she has not instituted any criminal case for the untimely death of her daughter, who was the wife of the petitioner. 7. This Court further interacted with respondent no.5, Anshu, respondent no.6, Raju and respondent no.7, Pappu, who are the sons and other relatives of respondent no.4. They disclosed that they are employed in private jobs and earn approximately Rs.15,000/- to Rs.20,000/- per month. 8. Upon interaction with the parties and consideration of the material placed on record, it is apparent that the petitioner, Zohair Alam, is the biological father of the corpus and has sufficient financial capacity to maintain and educate him in a decent school. He has also solemnized a second marriage, and his second wife has categorically undertaken before this Court that she will treat the corpus as her own child and take proper care of him. 9. The petitioner does not suffer from any disqualification which would disentitle him from having the custody of the minor corpus. On the contrary, having regard to the financial capacity of the petitioner, his relationship with the corpus and the undertaking furnished by his second wife, this Court is of the considered opinion that handing over the custody of the minor corpus to the petitioner would be conducive to his welfare. 10. Accordingly, the custody of the minor corpus, Abu Turar, is handed over to the petitioner, Zohair Alam. However, in order to preserve and maintain the emotional bond of the corpus with his maternal grandmother, HABC No. 1201 of 2026 2 maternal uncle and other family members, the private respondents shall have visitation rights. 11. The private respondents shall be at liberty to meet the minor corpus at the residence of the petitioner as and when they so desire, after giving prior intimation to the petitioner. They shall also be entitled to interact with the minor corpus through video conferencing on a mobile phone between 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. on a daily basis. 12. With the aforesaid observations and directions, the instant habeas corpus writ petition is disposed of. September 11, 2026 Jitendra HABC No. 1201 of 2026 3 (Sandeep Jain,J.) Digitally signed by :- JITENDRA KUMAR PATEL High Court of Judicature at Allahabad