Archive · 24 Jan 2026
Telangana HC Orders CRPF to Grant Benefits to Missing Constable's Family
A CRPF constable named M Srikanth went missing in 2015 while undergoing training in New Delhi.
The CRPF declared him a deserter and removed him from service in 2017.
His father, M Appa Rao, went to the Telangana High Court to challenge this decision.
The court said that the CRPF cannot avoid their responsibility towards their members and ordered them to give the missing constable's family his service and pension benefits.
The court also said that the family does not need to file a police report to get these benefits.
The CRPF had asked for a police report, but the court did not agree with this.
The court's decision means that the family will now receive the benefits that M Srikanth earned during his service.
Telangana High Court directed CRPF to process and disburse service and pensionary benefits to the family of missing constable M Srikanth.
The court set aside the CRPF's 2017 order of 'removal from service' against Srikanth.
The court held that the CRPF's insistence on lodging an FIR by the petitioner-father was not mandatory for consideration of the claim for service benefits.
Srikanth went missing on June 1, 2015, while undergoing training in New Delhi, and despite extensive efforts, his whereabouts remained unknown.
The court observed that the CRPF cannot be absolved of their responsibility towards a member of their force and the benefits to which the legal heirs or nominees of such employee are entitled to receive.
- Who
- M Srikanth, a CRPF constable, and his father M Appa Rao
- What
- Telangana High Court ordered CRPF to grant service and pensionary benefits to the family of a missing constable
- When
- M Srikanth went missing on June 1, 2015; CRPF issued removal order on January 28, 2017; High Court judgment on January 19, 2024
- Where
- M Srikanth disappeared from Group Centre, CRPF, Jharodakalan, New Delhi; case heard in Telangana High Court
- Why
- To ensure that the family of the missing constable receives the benefits they are entitled to, as per law
- Constable's Name
- M Srikanth
- Date of Disappearance
- June 1, 2015
- Location of Disappearance
- Group Centre, CRPF, Jharodakalan, New Delhi
- CRPF Order Date
- January 28, 2017
- High Court Judgment Date
- January 19, 2024
- Petitioner
- M Appa Rao (Father of M Srikanth)
- Court's Decision
- CRPF to process and disburse service and pensionary benefits to the legal heirs of the missing constable
- Court's Remarks
- CRPF cannot be absolved of their responsibility towards a member of their force