Prayagraj, November 9, 2026: The Allahabad High Court has directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to inquire into the mysterious disappearance of Indian Army Sepoy Rajat Singh of the 28 Punjab Regiment, who has been missing since July 28, 2018. The court described the move as “one last attempt” to locate the soldier before considering the disposal of a habeas corpus petition that has remained pending for more than seven years.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Achal Sachdev issued the direction on November 4, 2026, after observing that repeated investigations and court proceedings had failed to produce any concrete information about the missing soldier.
Sepoy Rajat Singh was serving with the 28 Punjab Regiment at Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand when he was allegedly deputed to Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, by Colonel (Retired) A.K. Dubey. The deputation was alleged to have been irregular. The soldier was last seen on July 28, 2018, at the Headquarters, Uttar Bharat Area, Officers’ Mess in Bareilly. His whereabouts have remained unknown ever since.
His father, Updesh Singh, a resident of Damowal village in Punjab’s Hoshiarpur district, has been pursuing the case for years, seeking answers about his son’s disappearance.
Following the incident, an FIR was registered at Bareilly Cantonment Police Station on July 30, 2019, under Section 364 of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with kidnapping or abduction in order to murder.
During the investigation, the investigating officer reportedly sought assistance from the Military Police in Bareilly and requested that Lance Naik Balwant Singh be made available for questioning. However, the request allegedly received no response, and the investigation failed to establish the missing soldier’s whereabouts.
With no significant progress in the investigation, Updesh Singh wrote a letter to the then Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court, Govind Mathur, seeking judicial intervention.
The High Court subsequently treated the father’s letter as a suo motu habeas corpus petition, registered as Habeas Corpus Writ Petition No. 919 of 2019, titled In Re Missing Sep Rajat Singh S/o Updesh Singh.
In an unusual development, a Division Bench comprising then Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice Vivek Varma held a special sitting on October 2, 2019, Gandhi Jayanti, despite it being a national holiday, to hear the matter.
During that hearing, the court directed the Command Officer of the Military Police at Bareilly Cantonment to provide all necessary details concerning the missing sepoy.
Despite several subsequent hearings and repeated directions to the Uttar Pradesh Police authorities, including the Senior Superintendent of Police, Bareilly, the investigation remained inconclusive.
In its latest order dated November 4, 2026, the High Court expressed concern over the prolonged failure to trace the soldier.
The Bench observed that “much water has flowed” since the case was initiated and that, despite numerous hearings, no concrete outcome had emerged.
The judges noted that the state police had been unable to achieve any breakthrough in locating Sepoy Rajat Singh, even after years of investigation.
Emphasising the circumstances in which the proceedings were initiated, the court stated:
“As this matter was initiated suo motu based on a letter written by the father of the corpus, and that too by the then Chief Justice of this Court, this Court considers it necessary to give one last attempt before finally disposing of this petition.”
The High Court consequently requested the CBI to undertake an inquiry into the disappearance and make an effort to locate the missing soldier.
The Bench directed the agency to trace Sepoy Rajat Singh, if possible, and produce him before the court. If the agency is unable to locate him, it must submit a report detailing the steps taken during its inquiry, enabling the High Court to consider further orders.
The latest judicial intervention represents a significant development in a case that has remained unresolved for more than eight years.
The disappearance of a serving Indian Army soldier from a military establishment has also raised questions about the circumstances of his alleged deputation, the investigation that followed, and the accountability of the authorities involved.
For Rajat Singh’s family, particularly his father, who approached the judiciary after failing to obtain answers through other channels, the CBI inquiry offers another opportunity to establish what happened to the missing soldier.
The High Court has made it clear that it wants a final investigative effort before deciding the future course of the long-pending petition.
The case now awaits action by the CBI, whose findings could determine whether Sepoy Rajat Singh can finally be traced or whether further judicial directions will be necessary.
