Signing you in

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription

The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective.

First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming.

Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day.

Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers

Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there

The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features.

The Delhi High Court directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police concerned to ensure that the infant girl is rescued at the earliest and sought a status report within four weeks. | Photo Credit: th-online Administrator

The Delhi High Court has deprecated the police for not arresting a nurse accused of being a key suspect in a 2024 child trafficking case, observing that the investigating agency cannot adopt a “pick and choose” approach while making arrests.

Justice Girish Kathpalia made the observations while dismissing the bail plea of another accused in the case. The court said it could not endorse the State’s policy of arresting some accused while leaving others untouched.

The applicant and another accused allegedly posed as husband and wife while taking custody of an infant girl, who was subsequently sold to another accused in the case.

Seeking bail, the applicant claimed he had been falsely implicated and pointed out that nurse Kulvinder Kaur, alleged to be the main accused, had not been arrested.

“Of course, the policy of the State to selectively arrest some of the accused persons cannot be approved. The police should clearly state as to whether they want to arrest an accused or not. The court cannot direct the police to do or not to do so. Such kind of pick and choose in matter of arrest must be deprecated,” Justice Kathpalia said in the order passed on August 31.

The court directed the investigating officer to clarify the status of Ms. Kaur’s arrest, noting that there appeared to be no explanation for the “selective arrest” of the accused and that the police were taking virtually no action against her.

The prosecution told the court that Ms. Kaur is an “unqualified nurse” and said she would be arrested.

“It seems that now the State realises the gravity of the alleged offence,” the court observed.

Justice Kathpalia also directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police concerned to ensure that the infant girl is rescued at the earliest and sought a status report within four weeks.

While considering the bail plea, the court noted that the material on record prima facie indicated that the applicant had sold the child. It referred to photographs showing him receiving the infant in the presence of her biological parents.

The court emphasised that an infant suffers a “tremendous dent in her psyche” when she is taken away from her biological mother by the adoptive parent and then passed on to other persons.

Describing the applicant’s alleged role as “highly appalling”, the court held that the case was not one in which he could be released on bail and dismissed his plea.

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.