MUMBAI: Around one-and-half months after producer and director Faruk Kabir’s wife purportedly fled with their new-born daughter to Amritsar, the Bombay high court has allowed him to meet the child every alternate day.
A bench comprising justices AS Gadkari and Shyam C Chandak passed the order on February 5 on a habeas corpus petition filed by Kabir, the director of “Khuda Haafiz”, seeking custody of his two-and-half month old daughter.
Kabir married Uzbek national Shok Sanam in 2022, and their daughter was born on November 29, 2023. He was keen on Indian citizenship for the child, while Shok was keen on Uzbek citizenship. Kabir alleged that on December 21, 2023, Shok fled with their daughter to her father’s residence in Amritsar. He suspected that Shok and her parents could cross the Wagah border to reach Uzbekistan via Pakistan; they purportedly couldn’t travel by air due to a lookout circular issued against them by the Maharashtra police.
Kabir filed an FIR with the Versova police station, claiming his wife stole valuables worth ₹7 lakh. On December 31, the Versova police brought Shok back to Mumbai and arrested her and her mother. They were released on bail the next day.
While on bail, Shok and her parents allegedly tried to manipulate documents so that they could travel to Uzbekistan using ‘Emergency Travel’ route. They were booked in another case for this at the Azad Maidan police station, based on a complaint by a special branch – II personnel.