The Kerala High Court has directed the authorities to produce the complete deportation documents of Suraj Lama, an Indian citizen who was deported from Kuwait and has been missing after arriving at Kochi. The Division Bench of Justices Devan Ramachandran and M.B. Snehalatha issued this direction while hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by the missing man’s son seeking the whereabouts of his father. The Court observed that before it forms any opinion or proceeds further in the case, it must examine the full set of documents relating to the deportation. The Court insisted that if any of the deportation records are in a foreign language, certified translations should be filed for the Court’s inspection.
The bench had already sought information about the protocols to be followed when a citizen is deported back to India, and found the initial statement submitted by the Directorate of Security and Governmental Investigations unsatisfactory, noting that it raised more questions than it answered. The Court specifically asked for clarity on the procedures followed at the airport and thereafter, and made it clear that no interim assessments could be made without the deportation files.
During the hearing, the government pleader informed the Court that certain reports had been filed, including one from the Superintendent of the Government Medical College Hospital in Ernakulam and another from the Deputy Superintendent of Police in Aluva, as earlier directed by the Court. While reviewing these reports, the Court noted that the hospital report stated that Lama was brought to the facility in an ambulance without any bystander, raising questions about who requisitioned the ambulance and whether the police formally documented this transfer. The Court asked the state’s counsel to produce any requisition by the police to the hospital explaining the circumstances under which the man was brought in, as the medical report did not clarify this point.
The Court reiterated its commitment to examining all relevant material in order to understand how Lama, who was reportedly in a vulnerable physical and mental state, was handled after his deportation. It underscored the principle that every citizen is invaluable and entitled to constitutional protection, stressing that this perspective guided its scrutiny of the case. The bench also directed the government pleader to obtain instructions on whether forensic evaluation of a decomposed body recovered earlier from a marshy area near the hospital could be undertaken as part of the inquiry into Lama’s disappearance.
The matter has been adjourned for further consideration once the deportation documents and related requisitions are placed before the Court. These documents are expected to shed light on the circumstances of Lama’s return to India, the procedures followed by immigration and police authorities, and any gaps in protocol that may have contributed to his disappearance after arriving on Indian soil. The Court’s focus on obtaining the complete record reflects its effort to piece together the sequence of events from Lama’s deportation to his subsequent movements in Kerala.
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