Per Sujit Narayan Prasad, J:

1. The instant writ petition has been filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India for the following reliefs:

“A.Issuance writ in the nature of Habeas Corpus directing the respondents to immediately trace, recover and produce the detenu/missing Sejal Jha before this Hon’ble Court;

B. Issuance of rule nisi calling upon the respondents to show cause as to why appropriate action should not be taken against erring officials for gross negligence in the investigation and escape of the accused from police custody;

C. Direction upon the respondents to conduct a fair, impartial and expeditious investigation, preferably by a senior police officer or Special Investigation Team;

D. Issue any other appropriate writ(s), order(s) and direction(s) that Your Lordships may deem fit in the facts and circumstances of the case.”

Factual Matrix

2. The material facts, as set forth in the writ petition, are delineated hereinbelow:

3. The petitioner, being the mother of the missing girl, has invoked the extraordinary jurisdiction of this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India by filing the present petition seeking issuance of a writ of habeas corpus for recovery and production of her daughter.

4. It is averred that the corpus, i.e., the petitioner‟s daughter, has been missing since 16.10.2020 under mysterious circumstances.

5. The case of the petitioner is that on 16.10.2020, at about 10:45 A.M., the corpus left her residence to attend tuition classes but failed to return thereafter and has remained untraceable.

6. At about 11:15 A.M. on the same day, a co-villager informed the father of the corpus that a ladies‟ bicycle, together with a pair of slippers and notebooks, was found lying scattered on the road leading towards Kurma Hospital. Upon reaching the spot, the father identified the said articles as belonging to his daughter, thereby raising grave apprehension regarding her safety and well-being.

7. Being deeply concerned, the petitioner along with her husband, Ramkrishna Jha, approached Pindrajora Police Station. The petitioner‟s husband lodged a First Information Report, being F.I.R. No. 161 of 2020 dated 16.10.2020, reporting the disappearance of his daughter and seeking immediate police intervention for her tracing and recovery.

8. The grievance of the petitioner is that despite the lapse of more than five and a half years from the date of lodging of the FIR, the respondents have failed to trace out and recover the detenu, thereby infringing her fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

9. It is further asserted that the petitioner continued to pursue the matter diligently before the local police authorities with the bona fide belief that they would trace and recover her missing daughter, but no fruitful outcome ensued.

10. The petitioner states that recently, upon learning of another case [W.P.(Cr.) (H.B.) (D.B.) No. 165 of 2026] concerning a missing girl, Pushpa Kumari, from the jurisdiction of the same police station, she became aware of the remedy of filing a habeas corpus petition before this Court. Thereafter, without delay, she instituted the present writ petition.

11. The petitioner has repeatedly approached various authorities, including the Superintendent of Police, Bokaro, and the Officer-in-Charge, Pindrajora Police Station, through written applications on several occasions, but no effective result has followed.

12. It is further stated that in her continued pursuit for justice and recovery of her daughter, the petitioner has also submitted representations to the President of India, the Chief Minister of Jharkhand, and the Governor of Jharkhand, highlighting the inaction and apathy of the local authorities. Yet, despite such earnest efforts, no concrete steps have been taken to trace and recover the corpus.

13. The petitioner has a strong and bon