JUDGMENT

(Prayer: Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying for issuance of a writ of habeas corpus to direct the 2nd respondent police to produce the petitioner''s elder daughter XXXX aged about 26 years before this Court from the custody of the 3rd respondent and set her at liberty.)

M. Sundar, J.,

1. Captioned ''Habeas Corpus Petition'' (''HCP'' for the sake of brevity) has been filed by the mother of XXX (we are masking the name of the daughter of the petitioner and shall be referring to her as ''absentee'') saying that the absentee is missing and the petitioner has lodged a complaint with the second respondent police in this regard on 25.02.2023.

2. S. Vinoth Kumar, learned counsel for petitioner who is before us submits that the complaint given to the second respondent police by the petitioner has been registered as Crime No.20 of 2023 for ''woman missing''. Learned counsel submits that it is the apprehension of the petitioner that the absentee is in the illegal custody of the third respondent. To be noted third respondent is a natural person and a private individual.

3. R. Muniyapparaj, learned State Additional Public Prosecutor who accepts notice on b