Man Missing From Police Custody: Allahabad HC Slams UP DGP, Flags Possible Custodial Death

The Allahabad High Court recently directed that a habeas corpus plea concerning the disappearance of a man from alleged police custody be converted into a criminal miscellaneous writ petition, after sharply criticising the Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police for filing an affidavit that, the bench said, did not address the core issue of what happened to the missing man.

A division bench of Justice J.J. Munir and Justice Sanjiv Kumar on December 9 said that they were “not at all convinced” with the explanation offered by the DGP regarding the disappearance of Shiv Kumar, who was taken into custody in connection with a 2018 kidnapping case registered at Paikolia police station in Basti district.

Court noted that despite repeated directions in earlier orders, the police had merely reiterated that their officers were right and the petitioners wrong, without offering any meaningful progress in tracing the missing person.

Shiv Kumar was arrested or taken into custody in a 2018 case under Section 363 IPC. When he subsequently went missing, the High Court had ordered the registration of an FIR for suspected kidnapping and conspiracy. This led to a 2021 case, naming Sub-Inspector Arvind Kumar, two unidentified constables, and the victim’s brother Ravi as accused. These details, the bench noted, had already been recorded in an earlier order dated November 25.

The affidavit placed before the court on December 9 by the DGP detailed statements from police personnel, village watchmen, home guards, and the investigating team. It claimed that no police records from September 10–20, 2018, showed Shiv Kumar as having been brought to the Paikolia police station. It also stated that extensive cyber and surveillance exercises were undertaken, including analysis of more than 170 call detail records, over 2,800 subscriber detail records, and 18 IMEI runs. However, because of the lapse of time, CDRs from 2018–19 could not be retrieved, and no “conclusive information” emerged.

Searches on the ICJS, CCTNS, and JMIS portals similarly yielded no results. The Intelligence Department and Passport Cell reported no passport issuance in his name. Bank account checks across several institutions also did not offer useful clues. Newspaper notices and social-media posts were issued seeking public information. Yet, the police remained unable to trace him.

Court said this affidavit was inadequate. It observed that the police appeared more concerned with defending themselves than addressing the unexplained disappearance of a man who, prima facie, had gone missing after arriving at a police station.

“Between the firmness of the stand shown by the Director General of Police, which we do not appreciate, and our orders, there is a man… who remains untraceable,” the bench remarked.

The judges stressed that police station registers “are no records to trace the whereabouts of a missing man from police custody” and called for an independent and discreet probe.

Significantly, court noted that the matter may involve not just disappearance but potentially custodial death, observing that an inquiry must ascertain whether policemen “have murdered the missing man".

Given these circumstances, the bench held that the scope of inquiry required went beyond what could be examined in a habeas corpus proceeding. 

Accordingly, court ordered the petition to be registered as a Criminal Miscellaneous Writ Petition and directed that it be listed before the appropriate bench.

Case Title: Shiv Kumar (Corpus ) And Another vs State of UP and 5 Others

Order Date: December 9, 2025

Bench: Justice J.J. Munir and Justice Sanjiv Kumar