Magistrate Can't Keep Adult Woman In Shelter Home Against Her Will, Violative Of Her Fundamental Rights: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court has said that while a magistrate has the power to pass an order to protect the safety of a woman–who had lodged a rape complaint, and send her to a shelter home after she refused to go to her own home, however she cannot be kept there indefinitely against her will. 

 It also said that once a woman who is a major makes a request to leave the shelter home, the magistrate is duty bound to release the woman. 

The petitioner had lodged a complaint alleging that she was raped pursuant to which an FIR was registered. The petitioner, who was the complainant, appeared before the Magistrate and informed the Magistrate that she had no family to go to and that she did not want to go to her parents' house.

Taking into consideration that she was produced before the Magistrate at about 8 pm, the Magistrate passed an order on 30.03.2025 directing the petitioner to be kept in a shelter home.

She subsequently made an application to the Magistrate and requested that she be set at liberty. However, the Magistrate rejected her requested; prompting her to move the high court stating that she has been illegally confined against her will.

A division bench of Justice NS Sanjay Gowda and Justice Utkarsh Thakorbhai Desai in its order said:

"In a given case, a Magistrate would no doubt have the power to pass an order to protect the safety and security of a woman by sending her to a shelter home. However, this direction to keep the woman in a shelter home cannot be indefinite and definitely cannot be against her will. Once a person who has been ordered to be kept in a shelter home makes a request that she be set at liberty, the Magistrate is duty bound to release the woman, more so, when the woman is a major and refuses to stay in the shelter home"

The court said that in the present case the Magistrate had made certain observations which would be inappropriate given the fact that the petitioner was sent to the shelter home because she had no other place to go and she had refused to go to her parents' house.

"Even though there is no challenge to this order, in our view, this order is non est since no citizen can be kept in a shelter home against their wish. We would also like to add here that the observations made by the learned Magistrate would be inappropriate and unwarranted, given the fact that the request was made by the petitioner to be released from the shelter home, and more so, when she was not accused of any crime nor was she necessary for the purposes of any investigation," it added.

The court said that the Magistrate's order denying permission to the woman to leave contravenes the "fundamental right of the petitioner to lead a life of her choice and cannot be permitted to stand".

The court thus directed the shelter home to set the petitioner free forthwith, adding that the petitioner is set at liberty and is also permitted to collect her belongings from the shelter home.

The court allowed the petition.

Case title: X v/s STATE OF GUJARAT & ORS

R/SCA (HABEAS CORPUS) NO. 12581 of 2025

Counsel for Applicant: Advocate Shivani J Lad 

Counsel for State: Additional PP Jay Mehta 

Click Here To Read/Download Order