Two FIRs by two fathers, one man named in both, and an affidavit due on November 25: the Allahabad High Court has ordered a UP STF probe into women trafficking angle in both cases, in an application that began as a plea to move a matrimonial dispute to mediation.
Lucknow: The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court has directed the Director General of the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) to depute a team of senior police officers to further investigate two FIRs lodged by the fathers of two different women against the same man, Chetan Anand, “considering the aspect of women trafficking” [S. v. Chetan Anand].
The order was passed by Justice Rajeev Singh on October 6, 2026, on an application under Section 529 BNSS. The matter will next be taken up on November 25, 2026, when the responsible STF officer is to file an affidavit of compliance enclosing the investigation report.
Shifting answers on schooling
While hearing the application, the Court questioned the respondent about where he had studied. The order records:
“When he was asked to disclose the name of the college from which he had completed his High School and Intermediate examinations, he stated that he had completed his Intermediate examination as a private candidate but failed to disclose the name of the college. Thereafter, he changed his version and stated that he had completed his Intermediate examination from the Sikkim Board through distance learning and also failed to explain the details of the university from which he is pursuing his B.C.A.”
The proceedings had begun with a woman who completed her MCA in 2026. She had asked for a case under Section 13(1)(a) of the Hindu Marriage Act, pending before the Principal Judge, Family Court, Lucknow, to be transferred to the High Court’s Mediation and Conciliation Centre. She, her father and the respondent were all present before the Court.
The first FIR, lodged on the day of the alleged marriage
The Court noted that the applicant came in contact with the respondent through a friend, and that an alleged marriage was solemnised on November 6, 2024 at an Arya Samaj Mandir in Chinhat, Lucknow. On the same day, her father lodged FIR No. 335 of 2024 at Police Station Patti, Pratapgarh, under Sections 87, 142, 352 and 351(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
That FIR alleged that the respondent, acting with his brother and a friend “in the greed for money”, had induced his daughter to leave home, and that she had taken jewellery, including her mother’s, and about Rs 3 lakh from the sale proceeds of a shop.
A second father, a second FIR
The applicant’s father also drew the Court’s attention to FIR No. 382 of 2026, lodged on June 27, 2026 at Police Station Kotwali City, Pratapgarh, under Section 137(2) BNS. In that FIR another father alleged that his daughter, about 21 years old, had come in contact with the respondent through Facebook, and that he lured her away from home on the promise of marriage on June 26, 2026. The complaint also alleged that the respondent was already married to the applicant and had taken her away in the same manner.
For his part, the respondent told the Court that the police had already filed final reports in both FIRs, and that the final report in the case lodged by the applicant’s father was based on the applicant’s own statement.
The directions
Disposing of the application, the Court directed the Director General, STF, Uttar Pradesh, to depute a team of responsible senior police officers to further investigate FIR Nos. 335 of 2024 and 382 of 2026 “considering the aspect of women trafficking”. The Senior Registrar and Additional Government Advocate Rajesh Singh were asked to communicate the order to the DG, STF forthwith.
The order directs a further investigation and records no finding of guilt. The allegations in both FIRs are untested, the police had earlier filed final reports, and the respondent is presumed innocent unless proved otherwise.
Why the order matters
An ordinary application to send a matrimonial dispute to mediation ended with a direction to a specialised agency to look again at two police files in which final reports had been filed. The order shows the High Court using its supervisory power to order further investigation where the record before it suggests a pattern that closure reports may have missed.
It also reflects the courts’ growing attention to trafficking that may be disguised as elopement or marriage, where young adult women leave home on a promise of marriage. By fixing a compliance date and requiring the investigation report on affidavit, the Court has kept the STF’s inquiry under its watch.
Case Title: S. v. Chetan Anand [Application U/S 529 BNSS No. 454 of 2026]
Bench: Justice Rajeev Singh, High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench
Date of Order: October 6, 2026
For Applicant: Advocates Vipin Pushpakar, Ashish Gautam and Iqbal Ahmad
For Respondent: Advocates Rajeev Kumar Singh and Alok Kumar Shukla
For State: AGA Rajesh Singh
