Kerala High Court Orders Statewide Search to Trace Missing Man from Kuwait,In the early days of October, Suraj Lama a 58 year old hotelier who had spent years working abroad returned to India from Kuwait. The hope was of reunion, rest and renewal. Instead, his arrival in the vibrant yet vast state of Kerala became the beginning of a family’s worst nightmare.
As a long term expatriate, he had left behind friends, memories, and a life built with grit and sacrifice. But just days after reaching Kochi, his hometown and family were met with silence, unanswered questions and the gnawing fear of the unknown.
His son, Santon Lama, watched helplessly from afar as his father’s tracks disappeared. What began as a bureaucratic return transformed into a human crisis, a missing person, a worried family, a state court stepping in to demand answers.
The High Court Stepping In With Determination
On 11 November 2025, the Kerala High Court took decisive action. A division bench, headed by Justices Devan Ramachandran and M. B. Snehalatha, directed state authorities to conduct a comprehensive statewide search for Suraj Lama. The bench did not merely urge action it ordered it.
The court’s order included an immediate instruction: every shelter home, every destitute home, every senior citizen residence across Kerala must be canvassed, every superintendent sent his photograph, every lead chased within a week. The message was clear: this is not a routine missing person case it is a race against time.
The gravity of the situation was evident in the court’s oral remarks: “Our first priority is to find this man. We will get him,” the bench said, underscoring both its confidence in the police force and the urgency of the search.
What We Know So Far A Life Interrupted
Suraj Lama’s story is a mosaic of hope, hardship and loss. Having established himself as a hotelier in Kuwait, he had seemingly built a stable life far from home. But everything changed after a hospitalization due to toxic alcohol poisoning. Reports suggest he was suffering from memory impairment and disorientation following the incident.
Without his family’s knowledge, he was deported back to Kochi on 5 October. His luggage returned, his ticket stamped, his plane landed but what happened after the arrival remains a blur. Friends in Kuwait alerted the family that he had been transferred to a deportation centre. Then, images trace him to places around Kochi said to be seen around Aluva Metro Station, Thrikkakara, Kalamassery. Possibly in police custody. Finally, admitted to the Government Medical College Hospital at Kalamassery. After that silence.
Santon Lama’s anxiety turned to dread when traditional channels of inquiry yielded nothing. Despite lodging missing person complaints, issuing media appeals, and seeking legal intervention, there was no sign of his father. The court heard his plea: his father may have been trafficked, misled, or placed under another identity in some institution.
The Nationwide Compassionate Search Effort
The court’s directive is significant not just for its scope but for its focus on humanity. At its core this search is about a person, a husband, father, expatriate returning home, not a case file. The statewide operation will include
- A full roster of every shelter home, protection home and care institution in Kerala being contacted
- Photographs of the missing man disseminated to every superintendent with the explicit request to verify all records and occupancy logs
- Coordination between the state’s Anti Human Trafficking Unit, the Social Justice Department and local law enforcement agencies. The court had the two departments impleaded as respondents in the habeas corpus plea, making their roles legally enforceable
The search likely will expand beyond Kerala’s borders if necessary. The bench acknowledged the possibility that Suraj Lama may have been aided by a Good Samaritan to journey onward, a reminder that this missing person puzzle may span states, even unseen corners.
The Emotional Toll on the Family
Behind every legal order, every inquiry, every police team, there is a human heart bearing weight. For Santon Lama, the journey has been emotionally grueling. A son awaiting his father’s return, he now grapples with uncertainty. Is his father alive? Is he lost, or worse? What rights does he have? Who will tell him what really happened?
For the family back home, every dawn brings hope, every dusk the irritation of waiting. Friends and neighbours call, ask, sympathise, but the silence persists. In the very place where he should have felt safe, Suraj Lama is missing. The sense of vulnerability, of broken trust with institutions meant to protect, lingers.
The court’s involvement brings relief, yes, but also raises questions. Why did this go so far without detection? Why were the family not notified properly? These questions reflect broader issues of expatriates welfare, governmental responsibility, invisible people returning into visible gaps.
Wider Echoes The Expatriate’s Return and Risk
There is a larger context beyond this single case. Thousands of Indians working abroad grapple with health issues, isolation, and the logistics of return. When a long term guest worker falls ill, memory falters, identity falters, the return trip seems like a safe bet. Yet once back, support systems may fail.
The fact that Suraj Lama was hospitalised, suffered disorientation, was deported without family knowledge, then disappeared points to a system in urgent need of compassion and coordination. Legal mechanisms can help, yes. But human centric support, tracking, community follow up, rehabilitation, these matter too.
The court’s directive may soon become a blueprint. A statewide search with heart, not just with protocols. The involvement of anti trafficking and social justice departments signals that missing person cases are not just police matters. They can involve care homes, shelters, memory loss victims, transit vulnerabilities.
What Will Happen Now The Search in Motion
In the coming days and weeks, here are key steps and expectations
- Police will file a status report to the court by the next hearing date. The court has made it clear, We want it done in a week. That timeline applies to the institutional sweep of shelters and homes
- The photograph and identity of the missing man will be sent out electronically to all homes and institutions in Kerala. Superintendents will be individually accountable
- If Kerala agencies find no trace, the search may be extended out of the state. The bench has warned that national coordination may be needed
- For the family, legal counsel will keep pressing. The court’s interest means resources will flow. But day to day the family remains in limbo
- Public appeals, local media mentions, social media visibility may help trigger a tip or a sighting. The search till now may have been largely technical, now it needs wider human engagement
Why This Case Matters And Offers Hope
At first glance, this is a troubling story, a man disappeared after returning from abroad, a court orders a search. But beneath that surface lies a hopeful message, when a human life is at risk, institutions can act, communities can mobilise, care can override inertia.
The Kerala High Court’s firm tone invites optimism. The directive is not passive, it is active. Not bureaucratic, it is human. The missing person is not a number, he is a father, a former expatriate, a member of a family waiting.
This case can serve as a reminder, systems matter, but compassion propels them. A court can order a search. But the human courage to follow through, to knock on doors of shelters, to send photographs, to track memory impaired returnees, to contact families, that is what will make the difference.
For Suraj Lama, there is still time. For his family, there is still hope. And for Kerala’s community of returnees, there is a signal, you are not invisible, your return is not solely your burden, you are part of a society that can act if it chooses.
A Final Message of Assurance
To the Lama family, your father’s name now echoes in courtrooms, in investigator briefings, in shelter home logs. The system has been awakened on his behalf. While no one has all the answers yet, the direction is set, the effort is underway, and the promise has been made, we will find him.
To the missing worker community, you are seen. Your struggles abroad, the uncertainties of illness and deportation and return, they matter. If a court can mobilise for this one case, imagine what might happen if every case had such insistence.
To every citizen, if you see something, say something. If you know an institution where someone might show up with memory trouble or identity confusion, share the information. Small human acts add up.
And to the man himself wherever he may be, your state is looking for you. Your people are looking for you. Your past work, your future hopes, your family’s love, they are all signals reaching out. You are not lost from their hearts. You may be lost in location, but you are still loved.
Do follow Gulf Magazine on Instagram.
Also Read – Kuwait Launches Instant 5-Minute Visa: Transforming Travel Forever
