8 Years On, No Trace of Missing Akhara Parishad Mahant: Uttarakhand HC Orders CBI Investigation

The Uttarakhand High Court has handed over the probe into the mysterious disappearance of a senior Mahant of the Akhara Parishad, missing since 2017, to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), expressing dismay over the failure of state agencies to trace him even after eight years.

Justice Pankaj Purohit, while allowing the writ petition filed by Mahant Sukdev Muni, observed that the prolonged inaction of the State police amounted to a denial of the fundamental right to life and personal liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.

“The conscience of this Court is particularly shaken by the fact that a citizen of this country is missing since eight years and the investigating agencies have not been able to trace his whereabouts,” the judge said in an order passed on October 29, 2025.

An FIR was registered under Section 365 IPC (kidnapping) at Kankhal Police Station in Haridwar on September 17, 2017. The complaint was lodged after the disappearance of a Mahant belonging to the Shri Panchayati Akhara Bada Udasin Rajghat, Kankhal, who was also the national spokesperson of the Akhara Parishad.

According to the petition, the Mahant boarded the Lokmanya Tilak Express from Haridwar to Mumbai on the evening of September 16, 2017, but was found missing when the train reached Bhopal. Despite immediate efforts by his followers and multiple police teams, he was never located.

Over the next several months, the police filed a final report stating no progress in the investigation, which was rejected by the Judicial Magistrate, who ordered reinvestigation. Even then, the case saw little movement, with the petitioner alleging that the Investigating Officers were repeatedly changed and that no serious attempt was made to trace the missing Mahant.

The petitioner highlighted a major lapse that the Mahant’s mobile phone was recovered from one Ravi Kumar, yet no interrogation was conducted to determine how he came to possess it. Despite this clue, the investigation remained stagnant for years.

Court noted that the investigation had been shuttled between multiple agencies, from the district police to the CBCID, without any tangible progress. “Even after lapse of seven years, no conclusive report has been submitted by the Investigating Officer,” the order recorded.

The CBI, on the other hand, filed a counter affidavit stating that the State is carrying on the investigation with utmost seriousness and the State Agencies have made sincere efforts to trace the missing Mahant. Moreover, the CBI urged that it is already flooded with multiple cases and cases of the present nature need not be transferred to them. 

The counsel for the CBI placed reliance one the judgment of the Supreme Court in Himanshu Kumar vs. State of Chhattisgarh (2022), which cautioned against routine transfers of investigations to the CBI.

However, rejecting the CBI’s contention, the court held that the case’s extraordinary facts warranted CBI involvement. Justice Purohit stressed that Article 21 encompasses more than mere physical existence, including the right to dignity and safety.

“Life and personal liberty include all varieties of life which go on to make the personal liberties of man,” the court said, invoking constitutional protections.

Directing the State authorities to hand over all investigation records to the CBI forthwith, the High Court observed that a specialized and independent agency was necessary to ensure justice and restore public confidence.

Case Title: Mahant Sukdev Muni vs. State of Uttarakhand & others

Order Date: October 29, 2025

Bench: Justice Pankaj Purohit