Delhi court adjourns order on CBI report in JNU student disappearance

The case, which has remained unsolved for nearly nine years, centres on the disappearance of 27-year-old Najeeb Ahmed

A city court on Thursday adjourned its order on whether to accept the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) closure report in the disappearance of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Najeeb Ahmed, pushing the long-awaited verdict to June 30.

Najeeb Ahmed. (HT Archive)

The case, which has remained unsolved for nearly nine years, centres on the disappearance of 27-year-old Najeeb, an MSc Biotechnology student who went missing from his hostel on October 15, 2016, a day after a scuffle with students affiliated to the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). His mother, Fatima Nafees, has since challenged CBI’s 2018 closure report and demanded a fresh investigation.

Fatima, 56, filed a protest petition in 2019, alleging serious lapses in the CBI’s probe and calling into question the agency’s conclusions that Najeeb voluntarily left the campus due to mental health issues and could not be traced. “I don’t refer to him in the past tense. I believe he is still alive,” she told HT ahead of the earlier expected ruling.

Her petition argues that CBI failed to investigate nine ABVP-linked students named in the initial complaint, ignored a possible motive behind Najeeb’s disappearance, overlooked contradictions in witness testimonies, and did not adequately examine medical evidence or follow up on claims about his mental health.

The case has seen multiple adjournments and a decade-long rotation of judges, delaying any legal finality. Fatima has continued her efforts to seek accountability despite health challenges, attending court hearings and holding silent marches in JNU each year to mark her son’s disappearance.