The court held that the birth register, as a statutory record, prevails over school certificates in determining the age of a minor, asserting the need for legal protection until adulthood.

ORDER :

1. This writ petition for Habeas Corpus is filed seeking direction to respondents 2 to 5-police officials to produce the corpus by name Marlapati Aswitha, who is a minor, aged about 17 years, who is in the custody of unofficial respondents 6 to 8, before the Court and then to set her at liberty.

2. Heard Sri M.M.M. Srinivasa Rao, learned counsel for the petitioner and learned Assistant Government Pleader attached to the office of learned Advocate General for respondents 1 to 5. Though notices were ordered to unofficial respondents 6 to 8, the same are not yet returned.

3. As the corpus is produced before the Court and as the writ petition is being disposing of as per the wish expressed by the corpus, the appearance of respondents 6 to 8 is dispensed with.

4. The petitioner is the father of the corpus, who is a minor girl by name Marlapati Aswitha. According to the petitioner, the corpus is a minor, aged about 17 years and her date of birth was 28.07.2008. It is stated that his daughter has been studying in Vahini Junior College by staying in a hostel at Tiruvuru and she was found missing from the said hostel from 18.10.2025 and thereafter her whereabouts are not known. It is further stated that even though a report was lodged with the police to that effect, that no effort is made by the police to trace her. Therefore, they have approached this Court by way of filing this writ petition seeking the aforesaid relief.

5. When the matter came up for hearing at the admission stage, learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that as per the extract of birth register issued by the Registrar of Births and Deaths, the date of birth of the corpus was 28.07.2008 and she is a minor at present and the petitioner, who is her father and natural guardian, is entitled to have her custody and thereby prayed to direct the police to produce her before the Court and to give her custody to the petitioner.

6. Learned Assistant Government Pleaders, on instructions, submits that the other school certificates produced by the petitioner himself with the writ petition show that her date of birth was 28.06.2007 and if the said date is taken into consideration, she is a major. He further submitted that the enquiries made by the police revealed that the corpus was in love with the 6^th respondent and she eloped with him and married him on 24.10.2025 in a temple at Jangareddigudem and that she is now living with the 6^th respondent.

7. As two apparently conflicting documents, which are the extract of the birth register and the SSC certificate of the corpus are filed containing two different dates of birth as birth register shows that her date of birth was 28.07.2008 and SSC certificate shows that her date of birth was 28.06.2007, to ascertain the correct date of birth and to determine whether she is a major or a minor, on 24.11.2025, when the matter came for admission, we have directed the respondent-police officials to produce the corpus before this Court today. Pursuant to the said direction given by this Court, the police have produced the corpus before this Court today. It is stated by the learned Assistant Government Pleader, on instructions, that she was found in the house of respondents 6 to 8 at Jangareddigudem of Eluru District and she is now produced before this Court today.

8. We have interacted with the corpus in isolation in our Chamber. She asserted that her date of birth as per her school certificates is 28.06.2007 and that she is a major and as she is in love with the 6^th respondent and as her parents refused to perform her marriage with him, that she herself voluntarily went away from the hostel with the 6^th respond