The Kerala High Court has declined to close the habeas corpus petition related to the disappearance and death of Suraj Lama, an Indian citizen deported from Kuwait. A division bench directed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to persist with its investigation. The court emphasized the necessity to scrutinize and document the entire sequence of events from Lama’s return to India to the recovery of his body.
Lama, who was deported from Kuwait and brought to Kochi as per official orders, was noted by the court to be vulnerable and possibly with cognitive impairments. Despite this, he was allowed to leave the airport unassisted after clearance by immigration and airport authorities. Following a missing complaint, the police took him into protective custody and admitted him to Kalamassery Medical College Hospital.
After being discharged due to no apparent medical issues, a body was discovered in Kalamassery, later confirmed through a forensic report to be Lama. The court was informed that the cause of death could not be ascertained due to advanced decomposition as per an interim post-mortem report dated December 1, 2025.
Stressing that the case remains unresolved as the cause of death remains unknown, the court asserted that merely identifying the body does not warrant closing the petition. It instructed the investigating officer to furnish the missing case file and post-mortem report while directing the SIT to continue the inquiry. The court highlighted alleged lapses in various stages, including immigration clearance, police procedures, and medical attention, acknowledging the petitioner’s concern that foul play cannot be discounted.
“We are not probing the murder. We are investigating the events until the body was discovered,” clarified the court. The case is scheduled for further hearing in three weeks.
