Delhi High Court
Gayatri Devi vs State Of Nct Of Delhi & Ors. on 1 December, 2021
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* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
Judgment Reserved on : 22.11.2021
Judgment Pronounced on: 01.12.2021
+ W.P.(CRL) 458/2021
GAYATRI DEVI ..... Petitioner
Through: Mr. C.S.S. Tomar, Advocate.
versus
STATE OF NCT OF DELHI & ORS. ..... Respondents
Through: Mr. Sanjay Lao, Standing Counsel
(Criminal) for the State with S.I.
Naveen Dahiya, P.S.: Kalyanpuri.
CORAM:
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SIDDHARTH MRIDUL
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ANUP JAIRAM BHAMBHANI
J U D G M E N T
ANUP JAIRAM BHAMBHANI J.
The present petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India has
been filed by Smt. Gayatri Devi seeking a writ in the nature of habeas
corpus against official respondents Nos. 1, 2 and 3, namely the State of
NCT of Delhi, the Police Commissioner, Delhi and the SHO, P.S.:
Kalyanpuri respectively, to search, trace-out and produce her missing
daughter, Lakshmi, who is stated to be missing since 16.12.2019. The
petitioner has also alleged that her daughter is missing at the instance of
respondent No. 4, one Kamlesh Kumar s/o Balbir, who the petitioner
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suspects has abducted, tortured and killed her daughter by reason of the fact
that the daughter had spurned his advances.
2. Notice in this matter was issued to the official respondents vidé order
dated 01.03.2021, whereupon the official respondents have filed
status reports dated 18.03.2021, 29.05.2021 and 17.07.2021, the last
of which is authored by Ms. Priyanka Kashyap (IPS), Deputy
Commissioner of Police, East District, Delhi.
3. As recorded in the various status reports, the Delhi Police have been
unable to trace the missing girl.
4. In her reply of September, 2021 filed in response to status report
dated 17.07.2021, it is the petitioner's contention that the inability to
trace her daughter is a failure on the part of the Delhi Police; and the
petitioner has requested that the investigation in the matter be
transferred to some other specialised agency. However, upon a
perusal of status report dated 17.07.2021, we find that inter alia the
Delhi Police have taken the following steps in compliance of their
Standing Order No. 252 of 2019 dated 18.07.2019 to trace the
petitioner's missing daughter:
a) An FIR bearing No. 566/2019 dated 21.12.2019 was registered
under section 365 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 at P.S.:
Kalyanpuri, whereupon an investigation in the matter was
initiated;
b) In compliance of Standing Order No. 252 of 2019, WT
Message was flashed; Missing Persons Form was filed; photo
and details of the missing girl were uploaded on ZIPNET;
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information was shared with the National Crime Records
Bureau, the State Crime Records Bureau and the Central
Bureau of Investigation, and a photo of the missing girl was
also sent for publication in local newspapers;
c) Since it was the petitioner's case that her daughter was last seen
with Kamlesh at the DND Flyover and it was the petitioner's
assertion that her daughter had jumped-off the flyover into the
river along with Kamlesh, a search for the missing girl was
conducted in the Yamuna river using a steamer and divers, but
only Kamlesh was found and saved by divers, and the
petitioner's daughter was not found;
d) The suspect Kamlesh was interrogated, and was subsequently
also put through a Polygraph Test, which test however,
affirmed that there was no deception in his responses and
statements;
e) Kamlesh's father Balbir Singh s/o Nannu Ram and Yogesh s/o
Ram Vilash Malahar, who collects coins from the Yamuna
river, were also interrogated; who also confirmed Kamlesh's
version of the events;
f) The Police have further interrogated Narender s/o late Chhote
Lal, who is Kamlesh's brother-in-law and owner of the
motorcycle on which the missing girl and the suspect were
stated to have gone to the DND Flyover; Vinod s/o Hari
Shankar; Pramod s/o Balbir Singh and Aazad s/o Mehak Singh,
who are the other relatives and friends of suspect Kamlesh, but
to no avail;
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g) The Police have further confirmed that on receiving PCR calls
on 16.12.2019 itself, they also called in the National Disaster
Response Force (NDRF), the Fire Brigade and the staff of Boat
Club (DM East) and searched for the missing girl up to 3-4
miles in the river, but without success. The details of other
persons involved in the search operations have also been given
in the status reports;
h) The Police also excercised efforts to look for the missing girl at
the ISBT Sarai Kale Khan, New Delhi and also issued Hue-
and-Cry Notices, which were posted in and around the bus
terminal;
i) The Police have also looked for the missing girl at the mortuary
of the LNJP Hospital and the Lady Hardinge Hospital, New
Delhi, but with no success;
j) The Police have further checked the CCTV footage of the
cameras installed on the DND Flyover but have been unable to
find any useful clues;
k) It is recorded in the status reports that the CDRs of the mobile
numbers that were used by the missing daughter and suspect
Kamlesh, were also obtained and analysed;
l) The Police have also searched for the missing girl in Uttar
Pradesh, with the cooperation of the Staff of P.S.: Phinahat;
m) Lastly, the Police have also conducted a Layered Voice
Analysis test of suspect Kamlesh on 05.07.2021 at FSL, Sector
14, Rohini; and report dated 13.07.2021 thereof has opined that
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no deception is indicated in the suspect's voice when he reveals
the sequence of events of the fateful day.
5. On an overall view of the matter, including the steps taken by the
Delhi Police to trace the missing girl, we are of the opinion that
sufficient and sincere efforts have been made by the Delhi Police thus
far to locate the petitioner's missing daughter. The Delhi Police have
also assured us that they are keeping the case open, and efforts to
search for the missing girl will continue.
6. However, we see that no purpose in keeping the present writ petition
pending, since no further directions are called for in the matter.
7. Accordingly, we dispose of the present writ petition with the direction
to the Delhi Police to continue sincere and serious efforts to locate the
petitioner's daughter at the earliest and to produce her before the court
of the concerned Metropolitan Magistrate, being the learned
Metropolitan Magistrate having jurisdiction over P.S.: Kalyanpuri,
Delhi; and in the meantime, to file status reports detailing the steps
taken in the investigation of FIR No. 566/2019 dated 21.12.2019 once
every 03 (three) months commencing January 2022. A copy of the
status reports filed be also furnished to the petitioner, through her
counsel.
8. The learned Magistrate shall be entitled to pass such other or further
orders as may be deemed necessary or proper, based upon the status
report so filed, and to deal with the matter in accordance with law.
9. The petitioner shall be at liberty to invoke such other remedies, as
may be available to her, in accordance with law.
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10. The writ petition is disposed of in the above terms.
11. Pending applications, if any, also stand disposed of.
SIDDHARTH MRIDUL, J
ANUP JAIRAM BHAMBHANI, J
DECEMBER 01, 2021
ds
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