INDIA
The Hindu

The Madras High Court on Thursday dismissed a habeas corpus petition seeking the release of a parish priest, who had allegedly sexually-abused a 14-year-old girl in the US, and who is now lodged in Tihar Jail in New Delhi.

A Division Bench comprising Justices V. Dhanapalan and C.T. Selvam passed the order on a petition by one P. Pushpavathy, challenging an order of the Ministry of External Affairs, of March 8, 2011, requesting the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Patiala House Courts, New Delhi, to inquire into the request for extradition of the petitioner’s brother, Joseph Palanivel Jeyapaul, to the US.

To facilitate the inquiry, an arrest warrant against Jeyapaul, who was wanted by the US authorities for alleged “criminal sexual conduct in the first degree”, under that country’s laws, was necessitated. The warrant was necessary as he was not available for the inquiry.

The petitioner said…