Case called out twice. None appears for the petitioner.

The present writ petition habeas corpus is filed praying to

direct the respondents to produce the detenue before this

Court, mainly contending that the victim is found missing since

approximately 115 days and the jurisdictional Manchenahalli

Police registered a case in Crime No.46/2022.

3.

The co-ordinate Bench of this Court in the case of

Sudharani v. State of Karnataka reported in ILR 2016 KAR

731, at paragraphs 3 and 4 held as under:

"3. Learned

Additional

State

Public

prosecutor appearing for the respondents submits

that, on the facts of the present case, no writ of

habeas corpus could be issued to the respondents

as it is not the petitioner's case that her husband

has been detained wrongfully by the police or any

other person. In support of his submission, he

- 3 -

relies on a judgment of this Court in S.K.

Naik v. The

Police

Sub-Inspector [

WPHC

No.

194/2012

dated

19-10-2012]

and

also

the

judgment

of

the

Calcutta

High

Court

in Swapandas v. The State of West Bengal [ W.P.

No. 17965/2013(W) dated 28-06-2013] . It is

relevant to refer to the following observations made

by this Court in S.K. Naik (supra):

<5. We find there is absolutely no

occasion to issue a writ of habeas

corpus, as the writ petitioners do not

allege or aver in the petition that the

police or any third party has held the

missing person in illegal custody.

6. A writ of habeas corpus cannot be issued in

respect of any and every missing person more

so when no named person is alleged to be

responsible for the illegal detention of the person

for whose production before the Court a writ is to

be issued.=

(Underlining & emphasis supplied)

The following observations made by the Calcutta

High Court in Swapandas (supra) may also be

noticed:

- 4 -

<& & & & & & & & & On the basis of a

habeas

corpus

petition, the

power

under art. 226 is not to be exercised

for tracing a missing person engaging

an investigating agency empowered to

investigate a case under the Code of

Criminal

Procedure,

1973.

The

investigation, if in progress, is to be

overseen by the criminal court. Here the

petitioner is asking this court to direct the

police to track down his missing son.=

(Emphasis supplied)

4. Habeas Corpus is a writ calling upon the

person who has detained another to produce the

latter before the Court, in order to let the Court

know on what ground he has been detained, and to

set him free if there is no legal justification for the

detention. 8Habeas Corpus9 literally means <have

the body=. Writ of habeas corpus is also known as a

<writ of liberty=. A writ of habeas corpus is issued

for release of a person who has been detained

unlawfully by the State or by any private individual.

A writ of habeas corpus is not issued if the person

concerned is not in unlawful detention.

- 5 -

4.

In view of the above, the writ petition is dismissed as

not maintainable.

Sd/-

JUDGE

Sd/-

JUDGE

kcm