Allahabad High Court Hands Sudama Devi Missing Case to CBI After Two-Year Police Search Fails

PRAYAGRAJ: The Allahabad High Court has transferred the investigation into the disappearance of a 42-year-old woman from Maharajganj to the Central Bureau of Investigation after an extended police search failed to establish her whereabouts.

Justice Sandeep Jain ordered the CBI to take up efforts to locate Sudama Devi and directed the agency to produce her before the court on December 1, 2026.

State authorities have been told to provide the CBI with whatever assistance is required during the investigation.

The court’s intervention came after it was informed that the Uttar Pradesh Police had been unable to trace the woman despite sustained efforts.

Sudama Devi disappeared on September 8, 2024. A missing-person report was lodged at Puranderpur police station in Maharajganj district the next day. Despite the passage of more than two years, investigators had not been able to locate her.

Husband approached High Court over disappearance.

The matter reached the High Court through a habeas corpus petition filed by Sudama Devi’s husband.

The petition alleged that Sudama Devi had been kept in unlawful custody by Jameela Khatoo, who was arrayed as the fourth respondent in the proceedings. A complaint concerning the alleged custody had also been lodged with the police.

During the initial proceedings, however, the court took note of an existing dispute between the petitioners and the fourth respondent.

This led the bench to treat the allegation of illegal confinement with caution and seek a fuller account of the investigation from the state.

The court subsequently required the state to submit an affidavit detailing the steps taken to determine Sudama Devi’s whereabouts.

Police cite difficulties in tracing woman.n

In its response, the state told the court that a team of police personnel had been specifically assigned to locate Sudama Devi.

The affidavit described her as a 42-year-old woman with mental health difficulties and said she did not possess a mobile phone.

According to the state, the absence of a phone and other circumstances surrounding her disappearance had complicated efforts to track her.

Despite the investigation, the state informed the bench on September 29 that the woman had still not been found.

The court took note of the fact that the missing-person case had been registered shortly after her disappearance, yet the search had produced no result over an extended period.

CBI ordered to take up search

Against this backdrop, the High Court decided that the case required an investigation by a central agency.

In its September 29 order, the court directed the CBI to make every necessary effort to locate Sudama Devi and bring her before the bench on December 1, 2026.

The order also places an obligation on Uttar Pradesh authorities to assist the CBI investigation. State officials and other concerned functionaries have been directed to extend the necessary cooperation and logistical support to the agency.

The case will return before the High Court on December 1, when the court is expected to take stock of the CBI’s efforts to trace the missing woman.

The transfer marks a significant escalation in the matter after the state police were unable to resolve the disappearance despite more than two years of investigation.