IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB & HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH CWP No.50 of 2011 Date of Decision: 21.02.2011 COURT ON ITS OWN MOTION CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RANJAN GOGOI, CHIEF JUSTICE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AUGUSTINE GEORGE MASIH 1. Whether Reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgment ? 2. Whether to be referred to the Reporters or not ? 3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the Digest? Present : Mr. Sanjay Kaushal, Advocate (Amicus Curiae). **** RANJAN GOGOI, C.J.(Oral) This suo-moto writ petition has been registered on the basis of a letter dated23.12.2010 addressed by one Nachhter Singh to the Chief Justice of this Court. In the said letter it is mentioned that the son of the applicant, one Varinder Singh, has been missing since the year 2000 and no appropriate action has been taken in the matter by the authorities of the Police Department. After registration of the suo-moto writ petition this Court had requested Shri Sanjay Kaushal, a member of the High Court Bar Association, to assist the Court as Amicus Curiae. Shri Kaushal has taken up the task in the right earnest and after making necessary enquiries has laid the following facts before the Court. Evidently the son of the applicant Nachhter Singh, whose whereabouts are not known since the year 2000, had a love affair with a girl and they had proposed to marry. However, the said CWP No.50 of 2011 [2] relationship was objected to by the parents of the girl and, infact, an FIR was filed against Varinder Singh and his family members. Varinder Singh was declared a proclaimed offender in connection of the said case whereas his family members were detained in custody for a period of nearly three months. Thereafter, at the instance of the family members of Varinder Singh, the FIR was quashed by this Court. Around this time, Varinder Singh disappeared and his whereabouts are not known till date. In the year 2006, Nachhter Singh father of Varinder Singh had initiated a proceeding before this Court which was closed by giving liberty to him to approach the police by filing an FIR/regular complaint. It appears that no such FIR or regular complaint was filed by Nachhter Singh. Instead, he claims to have been representing to the police authorities from time to time and thereafter addressed the letter dated 23.12.2010 to the Chief Justice of this Court. A period of over 10 years has elapsed in the meantime. No criminal case with regard to the disappearance of Varinder Singh has been registered by the police as no FIR/complaint was filed in this regard. In the aforesaid circumstances, even if the State of Punjab is called upon to lay its stand before the Court, perhaps no meaningful purpose would be served as no investigation/enquiry with regard to the disappearance of Varinder Singh could have been made by the police authorities in the absence of any FIR/complaint. CWP No.50 of 2011 [3] Having regard to the said facts and the long lapse of time that has occurred we are of the view that no effective order or relief is possible in the present case. The Court, therefore, considers it appropriate not to pursue this matter any further and instead close the writ petition. The assistance rendered by Shri Kaushal to the Court is acknowledged. (RANJAN GOGOI) CHIEF JUSTICE (AUGUSTINE GEORGE MASIH) JUDGE 21.02.2011 'ravinder'