The Allahabad High Court has directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to make all necessary efforts to trace a 42-year-old woman who has remained missing for more than two years despite efforts by the Uttar Pradesh Police. The order was passed by Justice Sandeep Jain while hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by the woman’s husband, who had sought her production before the court. The court took note of the prolonged period for which the woman has remained untraced and directed the central agency to undertake efforts to locate her. The case concerns Sudama Devi, who, according to the court, has been missing since September 8, 2024.

The court noted that a missing person report concerning Sudama Devi was registered at Puranderpur police station in Maharajganj district on September 9, 2024, a day after she was reported missing. Despite the passage of more than two years, the woman could not be traced, the court observed while considering the habeas corpus petition. A habeas corpus petition is filed to seek judicial intervention for the production of a person who is alleged to be unlawfully detained or whose whereabouts are a matter of concern. In this case, the petition was filed by Sudama Devi’s husband, who approached the High Court after she remained untraced despite the police investigation.

When the matter was initially taken up, the court noted that an allegation had been made regarding the woman being in illegal custody. The allegation led the court to seek details from the state authorities concerning the steps taken to locate her and establish her whereabouts. The court subsequently directed the state to file a detailed affidavit disclosing the circumstances surrounding the woman’s disappearance and the efforts made by the police to trace her. The proceedings placed the focus on whether the investigation conducted by the state police had been able to make meaningful progress in locating Sudama Devi after the missing person report was registered.

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In its affidavit before the court, the state said that a dedicated police team had been deputed to trace the “corpus”, the legal term used in habeas corpus proceedings for the person whose production is being sought. The state informed the court that efforts were being made to locate Sudama Devi. However, the woman remained untraced even after the police efforts over the extended period since her disappearance. The court considered the continued failure to locate her while examining the petition filed by her husband. The prolonged absence of any confirmed information about her whereabouts became a significant factor in the court’s decision to direct the CBI to take up efforts to trace her.

The High Court’s direction places the responsibility for tracing Sudama Devi with the CBI, which has been asked to make all necessary efforts to locate her. The order comes after the court considered the information provided by the state regarding the missing person report, the police investigation and the dedicated team constituted to trace her. The court’s intervention follows the failure to establish her whereabouts despite the passage of more than two years. The direction also reflects the seriousness with which the court has viewed the unresolved disappearance and the allegation concerning possible illegal custody.

The case will now involve efforts by the central investigative agency to determine Sudama Devi’s whereabouts and establish what happened after she went missing on September 8, 2024. The High Court’s order does not, by itself, establish that she was illegally detained or that any particular person was responsible for her disappearance. Those remain matters for investigation. The immediate objective of the CBI probe is to trace the missing woman and provide clarity on her whereabouts. The case underscores the continuing uncertainty surrounding Sudama Devi’s disappearance and the circumstances that led her husband to approach the Allahabad High Court seeking her production after the state police investigation failed to locate her for more than two years.

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