HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND AT NAINITAL Criminal Writ Petition No.216 of 2024 Mahant Sukdev Muni ………Petitioner Versus State of Uttarakhand & others ………Respondents Mr. Gopal K. Verma and Mr. Rajat Joshi, Advocates for the petitioner.

Mr. S.C. Dumka, AGA with Ms. Sweta B. Dobhal, Brief Holder for the State.

Mr. Piyush Garg, Advocate for respondent no.5-CBI.

Judgment reserved on 30.07.2025 Judgment delivered on 29.10.2025 Hon'ble Pankaj Purohit, J. (Oral)

By means of this writ petition, the petitioner is seeking the following reliefs:-

“(i) Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of Mandamus directing the respondent no.5 to initiate investigation of the matter relates to FIR No.255/2017, under Section 365 IPC, P.S. Kankhal, District Haridwar dated 17.09.2017 and conduct the fair investigation and submit its progress report before this Hon’ble Court.

(ii) Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of Mandamus directing the respondent no.4 to hand over the entire records of the matter relates to FIR No.255/2017, under Section 365 IPC, P.S. Kankhal, District Haridwar dated 17.09.2017 to the respondent no.5.”

2. The facts in brief are that on 16.09.2017 Mahant Shri Panchayati Akhara Bada Udasin Rajghat Kankhal who was also the national spokesperson of the Akhara Parishad started his journey from Haridwar to Mumbai by Lok Manya Tilak Express Train and was travelling in seat No.21 (A-1). The train journey started at 8:00 P.M. from Haridwar. When train reached at Bhopal Railway Station, one of the disciples came to the aforesaid seat to serve him food, but could not find the Mahant and even after, multiple efforts, Mahant was nowhere to be found. Thereafter, a police complaint was lodged with the Police Station Kankhal, which was registered as FIR No.255 of 2017, under Section 365 IPC. Thereafter, S.P., Haridwar constituted six teams for searching the missing person and CCMPM Railways was also involved. But even after five months of lodging of the FIR, his whereabouts were not found and thereafter, the I.O. filed a final report in the court of Judicial Magistrate, but the Judicial Magistrate rejected the final report and directed reinvestigation. But even after eight months of the said direction, neither the investigation was completed nor any progress report was filed. The petitioner having no other option filed an application before the Court to call the progress report from the I.O., the I.O. hurriedly without proper investigation filed the progress report. On the basis of which, the learned Judicial Magistrate without applying judicial mind disposed of the matter and confined the records to the record room.

3. Feeling aggrieved by the said order, the petitioner filed a revision before the learned court of IVth Additional Sessions Judge, Haridwar who in turn allowed the revision and set aside the order passed by the learned Judicial Magistrate and remanded the matter back to him. The learned Judicial Magistrate sought further progress report from the Investigating Officer who again did not either file any progress report or initiate any investigation. Even after, lapse of seven years, no conclusive report has been submitted by the Investigation Officer. Hence, this writ petition.

4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that even after lapse of seven years, the Investigation Agency of the State have not reached to any conclusion and the entire investigation has been done in a very careless manner which is evident from the fact that the mobile phone of the Mahant was recovered from one Ravi Kumar S/o Bhole Ram, but the Investigating Officer did not interrogate him regarding the whereabouts of Mahant. The State is only time and again transferring the investigation from one I.O. to another, but no conclusion is arrived till now.

5. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the Hon’ble Apex Court in catena of cases has opined that fair and proper investigation is right of every citizen, therefore, to protect the rights enshrin