IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ALEXANDER THOMAS &

THE HONOURABLE MRS. JUSTICE C.S. SUDHA FRIDAY, THE 3^RD DAY OF FEBRUARY 2023 / 14TH MAGHA, 1944 WP(CRL.) NO. 1076 OF 2022 PETITIONER/S:

SREELATHA AGED 57 YEARS W/O.LATE BALAKRISHNAN NAIR, VADAKEDATHU KANDI (HOUSE), MEPPAYYUR PO, KOZHIKODE-673524. (MEPPAYYUR POLICE STATION LIMIT)., PIN - 673524 BY ADVS.

M.P.PRIYESHKUMAR K.LAL MOHAN DIVYA T.P.

RESPONDENT/S:

1 STATION HOUSE OFFICER MEPPAYYUR POLICE STATION, KOZHIKODE DISTRICT,, PIN -

673524

2 SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE VADAKARA, KOZHIKODE RURAL, PIN - 673101

3 ADDITIONAL DIRECTOR GENERAL OF POLICE (CRIMES)

POLICE HEADQUARTERS, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM PIN-695010

4 DIRECTOR GENERAL OF POLICE POLICE HEADQUARTERS, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM PIN-695 010 ADDL.R3 & R4 IMPLEADED AS PER ORDER DATED 23/11/2022 IN I.A 1/22 IN WP(CRL.)1076/22(S).

OTHER PRESENT:

SRI. SAIGI JACOB PALATTY-SR. GP THIS WRIT PETITION (CRIMINAL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 03.02.2023, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:

ALEXANDER THOMAS & C.S.SUDHA, JJ.

================== WP(Crl) No.1076 of 2022 ==================

Dated this the 3^rd day of February, 2023 J U D G M E N T ALEXANDER THOMAS, J.

The prayers in the afore captioned WP(Crl) are as follows:

“i) Issue an appropriate writ, order or direction in the nature of Habeas Corpus to the Respondents to immediately trace and produce the detenu named Deepak aged 36 years before this Court.

ii) Issue such other writ, order or direction if this Court may deem fit and proper on the facts and circumstances of the case and in the interest of justice.

iii) This Court may kindly dispense with the filing of the translation of vernacular documents.”

2. Heard Sri.M.P.Priyesh Kumar, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner and Sri.Saigi Jacob Palatty, learned Prosecutor appearing for the official respondents.

3. The case set up in the above WP(Crl) is to the effect that petitioner herein aged 57 years is the mother of the missing person/alleged detenu (Sri.Deepak, aged 36 years S/o. Balakrishnan) and that he was found missing since 19.06.2022. The petitioner’s husband is no more and she has two children, the younger one being the alleged detenu/missing person. Since there was no information regarding the whereabouts of the missing person, she was constrained to file complaint before the Police Station concerned which led to the registration of Ext.P1 FIR No.187/2022 of Meppayyur Police Station, Kozhikode, under Section 57 of the Kerala Police Act in regard to the missing of the petitioner’s son. Later, in the course of the investigation, the Police had found out on 17.07.2022, a dead body which is said to be similar to the missing person’s body features and the family members of the detenu had mistakenly identified the dead body as that of the son of the petitioner and that cremation was also done at the petitioner’s residence. Later DNA testing of the body which was cremated revealed that the dead body was not that of the petitioner’s missing son, but that of another person, one Sri.Irshad. Then, the Police took serious steps to revive the investigation in the above person missing case and had conducted elaborate investigation. But despite diligent and consistent efforts, the missing person could not be traced out. Later, according to the Prosecutor, very recently, they could get some links regarding the whereabouts of the missing person that he is in Goa. That, the Police authorities through their diligent efforts could trace out the alleged detenu/missing person (Sri.Deepak) and produce him before the Secretary, DLSA, Kozhikode in order to enable us to directly interact with the alleged detenu. Accordingly, the alleged detenu/missing person and the petitioner (the missing person’s mother) have now reported before the Secretary, DLSA and we have interacted with them through the video conferencing session arranged by the Secretary, DLSA, Kozhikode. Learned Prosecutor would submit on the basis of in