KOCHI: The Christian Association and Alliance for Social Action, Ernakulam, has filed a habeas corpus petition in the Kerala High Court seeking a directive to the police to produce 22-year-old Jesna Mariya James who went missing in 2018 from Pathanamthitta as she has been reportedly traced.
According to the petitioner, Jesna had been missing since March 22, 2018, from her home in Vechoochira. She was a second-year BCom student at St Dominic’s College, Kanjirappally then. The High Court had dismissed a habeas corpus petition in 2018 seeking to trace and produce her saying that the court could not act on mere apprehension or vague allegations.
In the new petition, the organisation pointed out that former Pathanamthitta SP K G Simon, who retired on December 31, 2020, had stated in interviews given to media that Jesna was traced and would be brought back to the state after the lockdown. It is clear that the police have traced her. However, the police have not made any earnest efforts to get her released from the illegal custody of persons with whom she was found. She has been incommunicado with her relatives and acquaintances.