Biological father cannot be booked for kidnapping a child in absence of legal prohibition: HC
Mumbai (PTI): A biological father cannot be booked on charges of kidnapping his child in the absence of legal prohibition, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has ruled, quashing an FIR registered against a 35-year-old man.
A division bench of Justices Vinay Joshi and Valmiki SA Menezes in its order of October 6 noted that in the absence of any prohibition by order of any court, the father was a lawful guardian along with the mother and hence he cannot be booked for taking away his own minor child from the custody of the mother.
The order was made available on Thursday.
"The expression Guardian' encompasses any person who cares for a minor. Therefore, in our view, in the absence of a legal prohibition, a father cannot be booked for the offence of kidnapping his own child," the court said.
It added that the effect of the biological father taking away the child from the custody of the mother only amounts to taking the child from the custody of one natural guardian to another.
The bench quashed the FIR (first information report) registered against the man, on a complaint by his estranged wife, with the Amravati police for allegedly kidnapping their three-year-old son on March 29, 2023, noting that continuation of such prosecution would amount to abuse of process of the court.
In his petition seeking for the FIR to be quashed, the man said he was the child's father and natural guardian and hence he cannot be booked on charges of kidnapping.
The court referred to the definition of natural guardian of a minor under the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act and said for a Hindu minor, the father is a natural guardian and after him, the mother.
"It is abundantly clear that the father is a natural guardian of the minor. It is not a case that the mother (of the child) was lawfully entrusted with the care or custody of the minor by an order of any court," HC said.
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Govt to set up Bureau of Port Security to boost port, vessel security
New Delhi (PTI): To beef up the security infrastructure of ports, the government will set up a statutory body -- the Bureau of Port Security -- that will ensure timely analysis, collection and exchange of security-related information of ports and vessels, officials said on Friday.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday convened a meeting for the constitution of the dedicated body, the Bureau of Port Security (BoPS), which was attended by the Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, and the Minister of Civil Aviation, Ram Mohan Naidu, an official statement said.
Emphasising that there is a need to establish a country-wide robust port security framework, Shah directed that security measures should be implemented in a graded and risk-based manner, taking into account vulnerabilities, trade potential, location, and other relevant parameters.
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The meeting also noted that lessons learned from the maritime security framework shall be replicated in the aviation security domain, the statement said.
The new body, modelled on the lines of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), will be constituted as a statutory body under the new Merchant Shipping Act, 2025, and will work under the aegis of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW), it said.
Headed by a senior IPS officer as its director general, the BoPS will be responsible for regulatory and oversight functions relating to the security of ships and port facilities.
"During the transition period of one year, the director general of shipping shall function as the director general of BoPS," the statement said.
"The BoPS will ensure timely analysis, collection and exchange of security-related information, with a special focus on cybersecurity, including a dedicated division to safeguard port IT infrastructure from digital threats," it said.
The government has designated the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) as a recognised security organisation (RSO), responsible for undertaking security assessments and preparation of security plans for port facilities.
The Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) will train and build the capacities of private security agencies (PSAs) engaged in port security.
"These agencies shall be certified and appropriate regulatory measures shall be introduced to ensure that only the licensed PSAs operate in this sector," the statement said.
