Sh Ashok Kumar Vs the State NCT of Delhi and Ors. — Writ and Judicial Review | Delhi HC (2026)

Sh Ashok Kumar Vs the State NCT of Delhi and Ors. — Writ and Judicial Review | Delhi HC (2026)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Petition disposed of with directions: respondent nos. 1 to 3 to continue efforts to trace the missing girl, file bi-monthly periodical reports before the concerned Magistrate, and keep the petitioner informed; petitioner permitted to participate in the proceedings before the Magistrate and provide further clues.

Issue for consideration

Whether a writ of habeas corpus should be issued directing the respondents to produce the petitioner's missing daughter, and how the tracing efforts by respondent nos. 1 to 3 should proceed given that her whereabouts remain unascertained.

Court's answer

The Court found that respondent nos. 1 to 3 are making sincere efforts to trace the missing girl, but her whereabouts could not be ascertained till now.

Ratio / Principle

The petition was disposed of by directing respondent nos. 1 to 3 to continue efforts to trace the missing girl, file periodical reports on a bi-monthly basis before the concerned Magistrate, and keep the petitioner informed of the efforts made.

Key takeaways

The petitioner is entitled to participate in the proceedings before the concerned Magistrate and provide further clues, if any available.ratio¶13

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Habeas corpus — missing person — Writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution read with Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 by father seeking production of his missing daughter, whom he suspected respondent nos. 4 and 5 of having disappeared. On perusal of Regular Status Reports and a further Status Report dated 04.05.2026 filed by respondent nos. 1 to 3 (State NCT of Delhi), the Court found sincere but thus-far unsuccessful tracing efforts, and disposed of the petition directing respondent nos. 1 to 3 to continue efforts, file periodical reports bi-monthly before the concerned Magistrate, and keep the petitioner informed; petitioner entitled to participate before the Magistrate and provide clues. (High Court of Delhi, Navin Chawla & Ravinder Dudeja, JJ., 06.05.2026)

$~1

IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI + W.P.(CRL) 4157/2025 SH ASHOK KUMAR .....Petitioner Through: Mr.Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, Ms.Suruchi Yadav and Mr.Sujeet Shukla, Advs.

versus

THE STATE NCT OF DELHI AND ORS .....Respondents Through: Mr.Sanjay Lao, Standing Counsel (Crl.) with Ms.Priyam Agarwal, Mr.Abhinav Kr. Arya and Mr.Aryan Sachdeva, Advs. with SI Mahendra Koli, PS Bhalswa Dairy

CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE NAVIN CHAWLA HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAVINDER DUDEJA

O R D E R

% 06.05.2026

The present Writ Petition has been filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India read with Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, seeking issuance of a Writ in the nature of Habeas Corpus, directing the respondents to produce Ms.XXX, the daughter of the petitioner.

The petitioner had suspected the role of the respondent nos. 4 and 5 in disappearance of his daughter. Regular Status Reports have been filed by the respondent nos. 1 to 3 showing the efforts made to trace out the missing girl. A further Status Report dated 04.05.2026 has also been placed on record. We have perused the same.

This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 08/05/2026 at 12:23:15

We find that the respondent nos. 1 to 3 are making sincere efforts to trace out the missing girl, but unfortunately her whereabouts could not be ascertained till now.

Accordingly, we dispose of this petition by directing the respondent nos. 1 to 3 to continue to make further efforts to trace out the missing girl and file periodical reports, on a bi-monthly basis, before the concerned Magistrate. They shall also keep the petitioner informed of the efforts made.

The petitioner shall be entitled to participate in the proceedings before the concerned Magistrate and provide further clues, if any available.

The petition stands disposed of with the above directions.

NAVIN CHAWLA, J

RAVINDER DUDEJA, J

MAY 6, 2026 /gs/sk/pb

This is a digitally signed order.

The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 08/05/2026 at 12:23:15