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2021 Supreme(Raj) 1667
RAJASTHAN HIGH COURT
Sandeep Mehta, Manoj Kumar Garg, JJ.
Urmiladevi - Appellant
Versus
State - Respondent
Habeas Corpus Petition No. 212 of 2020
Decided On : 30-07-2021
Gyan Jyoti Gupta, Advocate, Farzand Ali, Advocate, Shreyansh Mardia, Advocate, Mahendra Kumar, Advocate
The judgment underscores the necessity for law enforcement to adopt rigorous procedures for investigating missing persons and preserving evidence for identification.
Headnote:
Habeas Corpus - Missing Person - IPC Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 - The court examined the circumstances surrounding the disappearance and subsequent identification of the deceased, emphasizing the need for proper investigative procedures and DNA preservation in cases of unidentified bodies.
Fact of the Case:
The petitioner alleged her husband went missing and suspected foul play by relatives. A missing person report was filed, and later a body resembling him was found, but the family could not confirm the identity.
Finding of the Court:
The court concluded that the deceased found on the railway tracks was likely the missing person, based on photographic evidence and circumstances surrounding the disappearance.
Issues: Whether the deceased found was the missing person and the adequacy of police procedures in handling missing person cases.
Ratio Decidendi: The court relied on photographic comparisons and the timeline of events to establish the identity of the deceased, while also highlighting the importance of preserving DNA evidence.
Result: The habeas corpus petition was disposed of, confirming the death of the missing person.
JUDGMENT
1. The petitioner Urmila Devi has approached this Court by way of this habeas corpus petition alleging inter alia that her husband Shri Prem Ratan aged about 72 years went missing on 04.09.2019 and since then, he has been untraceable. She has prayed for a direction to the respondent police authorities to trace out and produce the corpus in this Court. Various allegations have been levelled by the petitioner in the writ petition against her brotherin-law (respondent No.4) and sister-in-law (respondent No.5) that they are having an evil eye on the property of her husband in Delhi and that they are responsible for the disappearance of Shri Prem Ratan, who might have been murdered.
2. It is an admitted case that Shri Prem Ratan left his home at Rajaldesar, District Churu on 04.09.2019 at about 10 o' clock in the morning and thereafter, he disappeared. The petitioner's son Shri Gopal Krishan lodged a missing person report (No.04/2019) at the Police Station Rajaldesar on 10.09.2019, wherein, no allegations were made about any foul play in the disappearance of Shri Prem Ratan. For the first time on 22.09.2019, the petitioner forwarded a complaint to the Superintendent of Police, Churu alleging that her brother-in-law and sister-in-law might be responsible for the disappearance of her husband. The petitioner's son Gopal Krishan Soni lodged a complaint against the respondent Gordhanlal for the offences under Sections 420, 467, 468 and 471 IPC in the court of ACJM, Ratangarh on 09.12.2019, alleging that his uncle, the alleged accused, was responsible for forging documents to usurp the property of his father, who might have been murdered, so as to destroy evidence of forgery.
3. Notice of the habeas corpus petition was issued to the respondents. Shri Farzand Ali, learned GA-cum-AAG, has put in appearance on behalf of the State and police authorities whereas Shri Shreyansh Mardia, Advocate has appeared on behalf of respondents Nos.4 & 5. As per the factual report submitted by learned AAG, police team proceeded to various places where, the missing person could have possibly gone. An information was received that a dead body of an old man resembling Shri Prem Ratan had been found on the railway tracks by the officials of the GRP, Rajgarh/Sadulpur and an inquest report (No.14/2019) had been registered in relation thereto. The dead body was recovered on 05.09.2019 (i.e., just on the next day after the alleged disappearance of Shri Prem Ratan) and photographs were snapped thereof. However, the petitioner and her son refused to identify the dead body to be that of Shri Prem Ratan. Unfortunately, DNA samples were not preserved for establishing the identity of the body.
4. Shri Gyan Jyoti Gupta, learned counsel representing the petitioner vehemently and fervently urges that by no stretch of imagination can it be accepted that the man who died by the railway locomotive accident in the jurisdiction of Police Station Sadulpur/Rajgarh on 05.09.2019 would be the husband of the petitioner herein (the alleged corpus) and thus, the habeas corpus petition is required to be continued so as to take it to the logical conclusion.
5. However, Shri Farzand Ali, learned GA-cum-AAG, with the assistance of the Investigating Officer, insists that if a comparison of the photograph of Shri Prem Ratan, appended with the missing person report lodged by Shri Gopal Krishan Soni is made with the coloured photographs of the dead body taken by the GRP officials, it would become apparent that the man who was run over by the train was none other than Prem Ratan.
6. Considering the conflicting stances, we have tried to satisfy ourselves about the identity of the corpus by close inspection of the photographs of the dead body. We find that the deceased, whose photographs were taken by the officials of the GRP, Sadulpur was an old aged man with grey hair, a mustache and french beard. As per the photograph which has been annexed with the missing person report dated 10.09.2019,
