A/HRC/4/41 page 46 Standard cases 211. The Working Group transmitted one newly reported case of disappearance, concerning Sukwinder Singh Batti, a criminal defence lawyer who had represented victims of human rights abuses. He was reportedly last seen in 1994 in an unofficial detention centre located in Bahadur. Information from the Government 212. In a communication dated 10 April 2006, the Government replied on three outstanding cases. In one case the Government stated that the subject, a militant from a pro-Pakistani group, Al-Jehad, had been released and was now at home. In another case, concerning the disappearance of an owner of a hardware shop, the Government reported that the subject’s dead body was recovered from an orchard and handed over to the relatives. The Working Group considered that both replies could be clarifications, provided that the source did not raise objections within six months (see paragraph 12). In the third case, the Government provided new information on the subject, a 33-year-old watchman, and the circumstances concerning his arrest, but the Working Group considered it to be insufficient to determine the fate or whereabouts of the person. Information from sources 213. A source replied concerning one case of a criminal defence lawyer who reportedly disappeared in 1994 (see paragraph 211), stating that an inquiry report remains pending before the Supreme Court. Clarification 214. The Working Group decided to clarify one case, concerning a 17-year-old student who disappeared in 1999, where the six-month rule had been previously applied (see paragraph 11). Request for a visit 215. On 13 July 2005, the Working Group requested to undertake a mission to India in the course of 2006. The request was based on an expected significant increase in the number of cases to be submitted by an NGO. However, these cases were not submitted. As a result, the Working Group decided at its eightieth session to withdraw its request for a visit to India. Summary of the situation prior to the period under review 216. Most of the cases of disappearance reported to the Working Group occurred between 1983 and 2004, in the context of ethnic and religious disturbances in the Punjab and Kashmir regions. The disappearances were allegedly related to wide powers granted to the security forces under emergency legislation, in particular the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act and the Public Security Act, which allow for both preventive and prolonged detention in the absence of normal safeguards available under the criminal codes. The victims included two children, one aged 13 and one aged 16, students, a religious leader, journalists and human