The consent of a minor does not justify illegal detention, and the appropriate legal remedy should be pursued.

1. This is a petition praying for an order directing the bringing up to the Court of a minor married girl and also for an order directing that she be handed over to her husband, who is the petitioner. The young girl is the wife of the petitioner and the first respondent is the mother of the minor girl and the second her step-brother. The petition is founded on the allegation that after the marriage the wife having got into the custody of the two respondents, they have illegally detained her. If these facts are proved, then it is quite sufficient for us to make the order prayed for, if we are satisfied that it is in the interests of the wife that she should be handed over to the care of the person who should naturally have her in his charge, namely, her husband. The petitioner married this young girl on the 9th March, 1927. She is said to have been about 10 or 11 years of age then--the evidence as to the exact age of these children is usually rather indefinite and vague--but assuming her age to have been 11 years, she is now just over 13 years. She is of the Goundan class and, according to the petitioner, it is the custom of that caste for wives even before they have attained puberty to reside under the husbands roof. In this case, it is asserted by the petitioner that she resided under his roof and under the roof of his mother for some seven, eight or nine months. That assertion is denied by the respondents, who say that except for two periods, each of them of about 8 days, she has all along since the marriage resided with the respondents. The petitioners case is that after the marriage she was living with him at Sindu-patti, where he was then Sub-Registrar and that afterwards she was living with his mother at his family house at Pannaipuram. Whilst there, there was, according to him, an outbreak of plague, and having the health and safety of his wife to consider, she was then sent home to the respondents, where she has been living since. As I have stated, the respondents case is that this is untrue and that except for these two periods of 7 or 8 days at a time she has never resided under the roof of her husband. Last year the petitioner met with a very serious motor accident which necessitated his having to take leave for a year and during that time he was not nursed by his wife. On his return from leave his wife attained puberty this was some six months ago according to him--and he wished to consummate the marriage and sent word to the respondents stating his willingness to do so, but. the respondents refused to send the girl and there is no question about it at all that the puberty ceremonies did not take place until two or three months after the girl attained puberty. The petitioners case is that during this time the respondents were attempting to extort from him a large sum of money and some lands as a condition for allowing the girl to return to him; and evidence upon this point has been called and it is abundantly clear to us that, whatever may be the real facts with regard to that, the petitioner had to pay Rs. 100 to the respondents towards the expenses of the puberty ceremonies.

2. Counter-affidavits have been filed by the first and second respondents. The first respondent has not signed her own affidavit but it is signed on her behalf by the second. Both the affidavits contain largely matters which are entirely irrelevant and which, if true, would merely be reasons for not allowing the young girl to have married the petitioner at all. They do not set forth any valid reasons for detaining the girl after her marriage and refusing to allow her to return to her husband. However, it is asserted that on the occasion of her first visit to her husband after the marriage, which it is alleged by the respondents was only for some eight days and on this occasion she was accompanied by her mother, the wife was subjected to ill-treatment, the story being that she was sent by the petitioner to fetch water and as there was some