Court rejects plea for fresh investigation, saying claims against NRI father were unsupported as police confirmed woman’s whereabouts through official records and video verification
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has dismissed a petition seeking a fresh investigation into the alleged disappearance and murder of a woman after authorities confirmed that she is alive and living in Canada.
In an order issued on June 5, Justice Surya Partap Singh rejected allegations made by the woman’s maternal uncle that she had been murdered by her father, a non-resident Indian (NRI) based in Germany. The court described the claims as a “figment of imagination” and ruled that there was no basis for constituting a Special Investigation Team (SIT) or ordering further inquiries.
The case stemmed from a petition alleging that the woman had gone missing in 2013 and was later presumed dead. The petitioner claimed that police had failed to properly investigate the matter and had not taken sufficient action against the woman’s father and other accused individuals
However, the court noted that the investigating agency had made extensive efforts to trace the woman. Police verified her identity and location through passport records, immigration documents, statements from relatives and video-call verification. During the video calls, close family members reportedly identified her, confirming that she was residing in Canada.
The court observed that since the woman had been found alive, there was no question of prosecuting anyone for her alleged murder. It further held that there was no evidence of negligence or deliberate inaction by the authorities.
According to case records, the petitioner alleged that family disputes began after his brother-in-law settled in Germany in the 1980s and allegedly entered into a second marriage. He further claimed that his niece disappeared after a marriage arranged in 2012.
Representing the state, Deputy Advocate General J.S. Thind argued that official immigration records clearly showed the woman’s travel to Canada. He also pointed to her valid passport and the identification made by relatives during police-supervised video calls.
Concluding that the investigation had been thorough and effective, the High Court dismissed the petition and declined to order any further probe.
