Case thrown out: NGO seeking custody of Geeta backs out

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court threw out a petition seeking custody of a deaf and mute Hindu girl who remains in the care of Edhi Trust, as the NGO filing the plea decided to withdraw the case and approach the ministry concerned for remedy. A division bench, headed by Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, dismissed the petition, as withdrawn by the petitioner. The 22-year-old Geeta alias Guddi had accidentally crossed the border into Pakistan 13 years ago and has been stranded here ever since. She has been staying at the Edhi shelter home since then. Atam Parkash Chanani from the Hindu Help Line had asked the court to direct the respondents to present the relevant records of Geeta and hand over her custody to his NGO to take care of her according to the Hindu religion. Chanani’s lawyer, Nadeem A Sheikh, said that since there was no documentary evidence available they need necessary verifications to ascertain her original nationality and to trace out her family and parents.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 23^rd, 2015.