The Punjab and Haryana High Court has rejected a petition seeking a fresh investigation into the suspected murder of a woman, after police confirmed she is alive and residing in Canada.
Justice Surya Partap Singh dismissed the plea filed by the woman’s maternal uncle, describing his claims that she had been killed by her father as a mere “figment of imagination.” The court ruled that since the woman has been located safe and alive, there is no legal basis for any prosecution or further inquiry.
Police Verification Confirms Location
The court’s decision followed a detailed verification process conducted by law enforcement. According to state authorities, investigators traced the woman’s travel history through passport and immigration databases, confirming she had relocated from India to Canada.
Deputy Advocate General J S Thind informed the court that the woman had successfully obtained a passport under her own name to facilitate her travel. Furthermore, police orchestrated a video call during which two of the woman’s close relatives formally identified her, confirming her identity and safety.
Family Dispute And Disappearance Claims
The legal dispute arose from a petition submitted by the woman’s maternal uncle, who sought to establish a Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprised of senior officers from outside the Ludhiana district. The petitioner alleged that his niece and sister had both gone missing in January 2013, shortly after his brother-in-law married off the niece without the maternal family’s knowledge.
According to the petitioner’s court filings, his sister married the accused in 1978. The husband relocated to Germany in 1985, where he allegedly entered into a second marriage without informing his first wife. The discovery of this second marriage severely strained the parental relationship. Following the disappearance of the mother and daughter in 2013, a missing person report filed by the petitioner’s father was later upgraded to a murder case.
Allegations Of Police Inaction
Representing the petitioner, Senior Advocate Jasdeep S Gill argued that the police had failed to conduct a proper investigation for over 13 years. Gill contended that the authorities had neglected their statutory duties and accepted highly improbable explanations because the accused father and relatives were wealthy NRIs. For nine years, the accused had remained unarrested and were declared proclaimed offenders.
However, the High Court found no evidence of deliberate inaction or lacklustre performance by the police. Justice Singh noted that the investigative agency had exhausted all avenues to trace the woman. With her active status in Canada confirmed, the court concluded that the petitioner’s allegations of murder were entirely groundless, resolving that no further investigation or special task force was required.
