Police directed to investigate missing detenu per court guidelines despite alleged voluntary departure.

This petition has been filed for a direction to the first and second respondents to produce the body or person of the detenue, who is the petitioner's wife and to set her at liberty.

2. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Additional Public Prosecutor appearing on behalf of the respondents 1 and

2.

3. The case of the petitioner is that he was married to the detenue in the year 2011 and out of wedlock, there are two minor children. The petitioner's wife developed an illegal intimacy with the 3rdrespondent. Hence, a complaint was given in this regard before the All Women Police Station, Rameshwaram, which was taken on file in Crime No.4 of 2022 and this case was investigated and the Police report was filed and it is pending before the learned Judicial Magistrate, Rameshwaram in C.C.No.92 of 2023. According to the petitioner, his wife, during trial, had deposed against the 3rdrespondent and hence, the 3rdrespondent had illegally detained the petitioner's wife and the children. As a result, the petitioner's wife along with the children went missing from 14.01.2026. A complaint was given before the second respondent, which was taken on file in Crime No.14 of 2026 as a woman missing case.

4. The further case of the petitioner is that five days after the FIR was registered, the children came home. But however, the wife did not return back and the whereabouts of the petitioner's wife was also not able to be ascertained. Since no steps were taken by the second respondent to find the whereabouts of the wife, the present petition has been filed before this Court.

5. The learned Additional Public Prosecutor, on instructions, submitted that the petitioner's wife had developed an illegal intimacy with the 3^rd respondent and she had gone along with him.

6. Taking into consideration the facts and circumstances of the case and considering the submissions made on either side, there shall be a direction to the second respondent to proceed further with the investigation in the pending FIR in line with the guidelines issued by this Court in K.Sukumari vs. The Superintendent of Police, Virudhunagar District, Virudhunagar and others reported in [2018 2 LW Crl 636].

7. This Habeas Corpus Petition is disposed of with the above direction.