India, June 5 -- For nearly nine years, Fatima Nafees has lived with one question: where is her son Najeeb Ahmed? On Thursday, the 56-year-old mother from Budaun, Uttar Pradesh, will find out whether the courts give her hope a chance or bring it to a halt.

A Delhi court will pronounce its order on whether to accept the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) closure report in Najeeb Ahmed's disappearance, or to direct a fresh investigation. Ahmed, a 27-year-old student of MSc Biotechnology at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), vanished in October 2016 after a scuffle with fellow students.

Since 2019, Fatima has contested CBI's decision to close the case, filing a detailed protest petition before the Rouse Avenue court and flagging what ...