India, July 16 -- The Orissa high court on Wednesday dismissed a habeas corpus petition filed by a man seeking the "release of his wife and minor child," whom he alleged were wrongfully detained by his wife's brother.

The court termed the petition a "classic example of misuse and abuse" of the legal process to settle personal scores and imposed a fine of Rs.25,000 on the petitioner, Vikram Kumar Badaik, a resident of Rourkela.

A division bench of chief justice Harish Tandon and justice MS Raman said no evidence was found to support his allegations of unlawful detention, adding that the wife was living with her parents of her own volition due to "disharmony in the matrimonial relationship."

The bench asked Badaik to deposit the fine wit...