Sarang V. Kotwal, J.—Rule.

2. Rule is made returnable forthwith and the Petition is heard finally with the consent of both the parties.

3. By this Petition, the Petitioner is seeking issuance of writ of habeas corpus, directing the Respondents to produce his minor daughter in the Court and hand over her custody to the Petitioner.

4. The Respondent No.1 is the State of Maharashtra and the Respondent Nos.2 to 4 are various police officers. The Respondent No.5 is the brother of the Petitioner’s deceased wife Zelam. Respondent Nos.6 and 7 are Zelam’s sisters and the Respondent No.8 is the husband of Respondent No.7.

5. The facts in the present case have a backdrop of unfortunate situations and tragedy. To a large extent the misfortune of the concerned parties still continues resulting in bitter battle for the child’s custody. A 17 months old child is dragged in this battle. The child in question has already lost her mother, within about 14 months of her birth. At the time of filing of this Petition, the child was in custody of the Respondent Nos.5 to 8 and Respondent Nos.6 and 7 in particular are looking after her. The Petitioner is claiming custody of the child being the only