IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) THURSDAY, THE THIRTEENTH DAY OF MARCH TWO THOUSAND AND EIGHT PRESENT THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE A.GOPAL REDDY and THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE B.SESHASAYANA REDDY WRIT PETITION NO : 20919 of 2007 Between: Vanapalli Laxminarayana S/o.Appalaswamy R/o.Ramachandrapuram village, Badangi Mandal, Vizianagaram District. ..... PETITIONER AND 1 The Superintendent of Police, Vizianagaram District. 2 The STation House Officer, Badangi Police STation, Badangi, Vizianagaram District. 3 Vandarapu Ramu S/o.Polaiah Poodivalasa village, Badangi Mandal, Vizianagaram District. 4 Piridi Suryakanta D/o.Appalaswamy R/o.Ramachandrapuram village, Badangi Mandal, Vizianagaram District. 5 Piridi Savitri D/o.Appalaswamy R/o.Ramachandrapuram village, Badangi Mandal, Vizianagaram District. .....RESPONDENT(S) Petition under Article 226 of the constitution of India praying that in the circumstances stated in the Affidavit filed herein the High Court will be pleased to to issue a Writ, order or direction more particularly one in the nature of Writ of Habeas Corpus directing the respondents 1 and 2 to produce the daughter of the petitioner i.e., Vanapalli Eswaramma, from the custody of the respondents 3 to 5 or any others and further directing the respondents 1 and 2 to register a case against the respondents 3 to 5 and investigate the same in accordance with law and pass such other order or orders. Counsel for the Petitioner: MR.M.R.TAGORE Counsel for the Respondents: THE ADVOCATE GENERAL The Court at the admission stage made the following : ORDER: (per Sri A. Gopal Reddy, J) This is a writ of habeas corpus filed by the father of one Vanapalli Eswaramma alleging that she is in illegal custody of respondent Nos. 3 to 5 and, therefore, respondent Nos. 1 and 2 be directed to register a case against respondent Nos. 3 to 5 and investigate into the same. According to the petitioner, respondent No. 3 who is doing labour work as a Mason in Chennai approached him and requested to send his elder daughter, the alleged detenue to work as coolie at Chennai promising that she will be paid higher labour charges and that he would take care of her. Believing his promise, he sent his daughter along with respondent No.3 in the first week of June, 2007. While so, on 05-08-2007 he telephoned the petitioner and informed that he sent his daughter in train on 4-8-2007 and she would reach Bobbili on 5-8-2007 and requested to receive her. When the petitioner went to the Railway Station, his daughter has not reached. Therefore, he immediately telephoned to the 3rd respondent over his cell phone and told that she has not reached. On the request of the 3rd respondent, the petitioner sent a photograph of his daughter, but the whereabouts of his daughter are not known and that the 3rd respondent is not responding to his telephone calls. Vexed with the attitude of the 3rd respondent, he filed a complaint on 22-8-2007 before the 2nd respondent and the 2nd respondent advised him to give a complaint at Chennai police station. The 2nd respondent filed a counter affidavit and two additional counter affidavits stating that on lodging of complaint by the petitioner, the police of Badangi Police Station made a GD entry and informed him to lodge a complaint at Chennai as his daughter was missing from Chennai. During the course of investigation, it came to light that the alleged detenue along with two others went to Chennai and worked with the 3rd respondent for some time and after completion of work, he brought them back and handed over them to their parents. Once again they informed their parents that they would join the same work at Chennai and left the village but they did not join the 3rd respondent at his work place. In the additional counter affidavit, it is further averred that a case in Crime No. 32 of 2007 under the head ‘woman missing’ was registered by the 2nd respondent on 27-11-2007 and he took up the investigation. The complainant when examined corroborated with the contents of the FIR and that he also examined three more witnesses and that the investigation reveals that when the alleged detenue wanted to go to her village, one Dadi Chiranjeevi and Susubilli Uma accompanied her to Chennai Railway Station on 4-8-2007 and got her boarded the train after purchasing a ticket. Though the alleged detenue boarded the train on 4-8-2007, she has not reached Bobbili. It is further stated that on examining one Botcha Raminaidu of Rampachodavaram Village, it came to light that on 8-11-2007, the alleged detenue called over his coin box and requested to call her parents. He informed her that at present he could not call them and asked to make a call again on the next day at 7.00 PM so that he would be able to secure their presence and that on the next day, the petitioner and the alleged detenue talked to each other, but he does not know what transpired between them. It is also stated that the police are continuing the investigation and all necessary efforts are being taken to know the whereabouts of the missing woman. The additional counter affidavit filed by the 2nd respondent also discloses that the complainant and an elderly person of the locality conducted panchayat in the village on 2-2-2008 where the complainant demanded a sum of Rs.5,00,000/- from the unofficial respondents and on receipt of information about the same, he examined the elderly person who participated in the panchayat and learnt that the information received by him is correct. In the light of the additional counter affidavit filed on 14-02-2008 and also in view of the fact that the police are making all efforts to trace out the detenue on registering the complaint, the prayer of the petitioner to register a crime and to investigate into the same had been complied with. Therefore, no further directions need be issued in that regard. In view of the same, the police are directed to complete the investigation and file report before the competent Court of jurisdiction intimating the same to the petitioner. The writ petition is accordingly closed. A.GOPAL REDDY, J B.SESHASAYANA REDDY, J 13-03-2008 ks