A Division Bench of Justices Badar Durrez Ahamed and M C Garg appointed Advocate Arjun Bhandari to visit Sarkar on Saturday at 54-E, Sujan Singh Park residence of her “cousin” Malvika Karlekar. The advocate will be accompanied by the Assistant Commissioner of Police and the Station House Officer of Hauz Khas area, along with the lawyers of the interested parties.

The order was passed on a habeas corpus petition filed by Nirmal Dhoundial, Inspector General with the Bihar police, claiming that Sarkar, widow of reputed journalist Chanchal Sarkar, was “taken away and detained without her consent and against her will”.

“Sarkar is being put under immense mental strain by the respondents in an effort to satisfy their own personal agendas. She is being brainwashed and coerced against the petitioners, whom she loves and cares deeply about,” alleged the IPS officer.

He claimed that both his professional and personal life had been shaped by the Sarkars, with whom he had stayed at their Hauz Khas residence.

“The petitioners (Dhoundials) are like family to Sarkar and hence have a legitimate right to meet her,” he alleged in the petition.

Today the Bench, however, took cognizance of a letter produced before it, purportedly written by Sarkar and dated February 17, which says she was living with cousin Malvika on her free will and would continue to do so.

The octogenarian’s case had hit the headlines when she reportedly denied having given away her plush house at L-1/10, Hauz Khas, to Dhoundial’s wife, Priti in a signed agreement.