S. Muralidhar, J :

1. At the outset, Mr. Anil Malhotra, Advocate enters appearance on behalf of the Petitioner. His vakalatnama is taken on record.

2. This is a petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India by a South African national seeking a writ of habeas corpus for the production of his minor daughter who is presently in the custody of his wife, Respondent No.2. He seeks the return of the child to South Africa.

3. The brief facts were set out in the very first order passed in this petition on 20th July, 2017 as under:

“The present petition has been filed by the petitioner under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking a writ of Habeas Corpus for production of his minor daughter aged 10 months, who is at present in the custody of respondent No.2, and also for her return to South Africa.

The petitioner is a citizen of South Africa. The marriage was solemnized between the petitioner and respondent No.2 on 23.06.2015 in India. Out of their wedlock, a girl child was born on 12.09.2016 in South Africa. Mr. Aggarwal, learned counsel for the petitioner submits that on the pretext of meeting her family, respondent No.2 removed the child from the lawful custody of th