URMILA DEVI Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner Urmila Devi has approached this Court by way of this habeas corpus petition alleging inter alia that her husband Shri Prem Ratan aged about 72 years went missing on 04.09.2019 and since then, he has been untraceable. She has prayed for a direction to the respondent police authorities to trace out and produce the corpus in this Court. Various allegations have been levelled by the petitioner in the writ petition against her brotherin-law (respondent No.4) and sister-in-law (respondent No.5) that they are having an evil eye on the property of her husband in Delhi and that they are responsible for the disappearance of Shri Prem Ratan, who might have been murdered.

(2.) It is an admitted case that Shri Prem Ratan left his home at Rajaldesar, District Churu on 04.09.2019 at about 10 o' clock in the morning and thereafter, he disappeared. The petitioner's son Shri Gopal Krishan lodged a missing person report (No.04/2019) at the Police Station Rajaldesar on 10.09.2019, wherein, no allegations were made about any foul play in the disappearance of Shri Prem Ratan. For the first time on 22.09.2019, the petitioner forwarded a complaint to the Superintendent of Police, Churu alleging that her brother-in-law and sister-in-law might be responsible for the disappearance of her husband. The petitioner's son Gopal Krishan Soni lodged a complaint against the respondent Gordhanlal for the offences under Sections 420, 467, 468 and 471 IPC in the court of ACJM, Ratangarh on 09.12.2019, alleging that his uncle, the alleged accused, was responsible for forging documents to usurp the property of his father, who might have been murdered, so as to destroy evidence of forgery.

(3.) Notice of the habeas corpus petition was issued to the respondents. Shri Farzand Ali, learned GA-cum-AAG, has put in appearance on behalf of the State and police authorities whereas Shri Shreyansh Mardia, Advocate has appeared on behalf of respondents Nos.4 & 5. As per the factual report submitted by learned AAG, police team proceeded to various places where, the missing person could have possibly gone. An information was received that a dead body of an old man resembling Shri Prem Ratan had been found on the railway tracks by the officials of the GRP, Rajgarh/Sadulpur and an inquest report (No.14/2019) had been registered in relation thereto. The dead body was recovered on 05.09.2019 (i.e., just on the next day after the alleged disappearance of Shri Prem Ratan) and photographs were snapped thereof. However, the petitioner and her son refused to identify the dead body to be that of Shri Prem Ratan. Unfortunately, DNA samples were not preserved for establishing the identity of the body.