India, June 30 -- Nearly nine years after Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Najeeb Ahmed vanished from his hostel under mysterious circumstances, a Delhi court on Monday brought the official investigation to a close. The court accepted the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) 2018 closure report, observing that the agency had pursued "all plausible leads" and noting the possibility that Najeeb may have voluntarily left the campus.

While disposing of the protest petition filed by Najeeb's mother, Fatima Nafees, additional chief judicial magistrate (ACJM) Jyoti Maheshwari noted: "This court is of the considered opinion that CBI has investigated all plausible avenues available in the present case."

The decision, which comes near...