SC orders immediate FIRs in all missing children cases

The Supreme Court of India directed police nationwide to immediately register FIRs in missing persons cases, noting that 47,000 children remain untraced. The court also ordered anti-human trafficking units to become fully operational within four weeks

New Delhi: Noting that 47,000 children remain untraced in India as on date, the Supreme Court on Friday directed police authorities across the country to immediately register FIRs in cases of missing persons and said the anti-human trafficking units should be made fully functional within four weeks.

Issuing a slew of directions, a bench of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and R Mahadevan expressed displeasure over the rise in the number of cases of missing children and said they are often victims of organised interstate trafficking syndicates.

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“The Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, is directed to put in place an all-India grid connecting each and every police station in the country on one platform, which will have a special portal dedicated to human trafficking, including missing children and women.

“The concerned police stations are directed to immediately institute FIR the moment any information reaches them with regard to any person missing, without waiting for a preliminary inquiry or leaving it to the guardians of the missing persons…. The said FIR shall mandatorily incorporate the relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, relating to kidnapping/trafficking,” the bench said.

The court said whenever a child goes missing, authorities should proceed on the presumption of kidnapping or abduction from the outset. It said registering such cases under the penal provisions for kidnapping would ensure seriousness in investigation and avoid delays.

The apex court also directed that the children who are traced should ordinarily be handed over to their families within 24 hours, unless there are indications that the family itself was involved in trafficking or exploitation.

“The moment any person is recovered or rescued, he/she should be taken for Aadhaar verification or for the making of an Aadhaar card. This direction is issued in view of the fact that, for the purpose of procuring an Aadhaar card, fingerprints and other biometrics are taken,” the bench said. The directions were passed on a petition filed by one G Ganesh before the Madras High Court after his daughter went missing from Chennai on September 19, 2011.