Karan Pahwa v. The State (Nct of Delhi) and Ors

O R D E R %

18.08.2026

¶1The present Writ Petition has been filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India read with Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, seeking issuance of a Writ in the nature of Habeas Corpus for production of Master 'X', the minor son of the petitioner and the respondent no. 5, who is aged about 12 years.

¶2Vide order dated 20.05.2026, upon an interaction with the The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. petitioner, the respondent no.5 and Master 'X', we had made the following interim arrangement between the parties: "9. Accordingly, keeping in mind the welfare of the child, for the interim, we direct as under: - i. The petitioner and respondent no. 5 are referred to the Delhi High Court Mediation and Conciliation Centre for exploring the possibility of arriving at an amicable settlement. They shall appear before the Mediation Centre on

22.05.2026 at 04:00 PM. ii. As Master 'X' would be on summer vacations from 23.05.2026, whenever the mediation proceedings take place, the party having custody of him shall bring him to such mediation proceedings so that the other spouse can have a visitation with the child; iii. For the vacations, custody of the minor child Master 'X', shall be handed over by respondent no.5 to the petitioner from 23.05.2026 till 10.06.2026. The petitioner shall pick up Master 'X' from the residence of respondent no.5, the address whereof shall be supplied by respondent no.5 to the petitioner forthwith, and shall drop the child back to the custody of respondent no. 5 on

11.06.2026 by 02:00 PM. iv. Master 'X' shall thereafter remain in the custody of respondent no. 5 till the next date of hearing. v. When Master 'X' is in the custody of either the petitioner or respondent no. 5, the other spouse shall have the facility of a video call with him every day between 07:30 PM and 08:30 PM."

¶3Unfortunately, the parties could not arrive at an amicable settlement of their disputes before the Delhi High Court Mediation The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. and Conciliation Centre.

¶4The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that he has instructions to withdraw the present petition. He, however, at the same time, also prays that the interim arrangement arrived at between the parties be continued, except for their reference to mediation. He also prays that the respondent no.5 be directed to give her residential address, as also the details of the school where the child would be studying, in case of any change therein in the future.

¶5The learned counsel for the respondent no.5, on instructions, does not oppose the prayers made by the petitioner.

¶6Accordingly, binding the respondent no.5 to the above undertakings, the present petition is disposed of as withdrawn. We also grant liberty to the parties, that is, the petitioner and the respondent no.5, to approach the Court of competent jurisdiction in case any modification or further orders are required with respect to the custody/visitation or well-being of Master 'X'. NAVIN CHAWLA, J RAVINDER DUDEJA, J AUGUST 18, 2026/ns/Yg The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above.

* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI # CNR No. DLHC010171512026 + W.P.(CRL) 1297/2026 & CRL.M.A. 12528/2026 KARAN PAHWA .....Petitioner Through: Mr.Shivam Thareja, Adv. versus THE STATE (NCT OF DELHI) AND ORS .....Respondents Through: Mr.Sanjay Lao, Sr. Adv. with Mr.Aman Usman, APP and Mr.Abhinav Kr. Arya and Mr.Aryan Sachdeva, Advs. for State with Insp. Ajay Katewa, PS KN Katju Marg Mr.Shaurya Lamba, Ms.Mehroon Nisha, Ms.Khushboo Hora, Mr.Shree Bansal and Mr.Raj Narayan Pal, Advs. for R-5 CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE NAVIN CHAWLA HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAVINDER DUDEJA