Telangana HC raises concern over suspected illegal trafficking of infants

The Telangana High Court expressed concern over suspected large-scale illegal trafficking of infants after nine children were recovered in Suryapet. The court questioned delays in tracing their biological families and directed the State government to submit detailed data on rescued children.

By Our Legal Correspondent

Hyderabad: Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice G.M. Mohiuddin of the Telangana High Court on Monday voiced strong concern over suspected large-scale illegal trafficking of infants across the State. The bench raised alarms after nine children, aged between two months and three years, were recovered from Suryapet district under suspicious circumstances suggesting illegal inter-State adoptions.

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Hearing a public interest appeal on the matter, the court was informed that the nine infants, aged 10 months, 9 months, three years, 18 months, seven months, 18 months, three years, two months and 27 months, were produced before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) in Suryapet. Owing to a lack of protective shelter facilities in Suryapet, the infants were subsequently shifted to neighbouring Nalgonda district for temporary care.

Expressing dismay over the lack of progress in tracing the biological families, the bench questioned how law enforcement agencies failed to establish the children’s parentage despite an extensive grassroots administrative setup, including Anganwadi workers and primary school teachers, spread across every village. The court noted that such lapses reflect poorly on the State’s duty to provide a secure environment for infants and vulnerable children.

The bench also faulted the procedural approach adopted by the CWC, observing that details of the nine infants appeared to have been uploaded to the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) portal prior to the completion of the mandatory Social Investigation Report (SIR), which was submitted only in June 2026. The judges highlighted that under statutory norms, children can only be listed for adoption after conclusively establishing that no biological or foster family is available to claim them.

Drawing from previous judicial oversight experience in another State, the presiding judge suggested establishing village-level child protection committees, leveraging Anganwadi and school staff to monitor dropouts and track missing infants, similar to a model that successfully deployed 27,000 local bodies elsewhere. Citing enrolment mandates under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009, the court cautioned that untraced infants remain extremely vulnerable to grave exploitation, including organ trafficking and forced begging networks.

Taking a stern view, the court impleaded the Social Welfare Department and the Home Department as respondents, alongside the Women and Child Welfare Department. The bench issued directions to the State government to file comprehensive affidavits within a fortnight detailing: statewide data on children rescued from individuals suspected of illegal possession or adoption rackets, precise statistics on children currently residing across all State-run and recognised protective homes, and implementation metrics and details of beneficiaries under official sponsorship and foster care initiatives, where eligible families receive Rs. 4,000 per month per child.

The court directed that the reports must be signed by officers not below the rank of Director or Additional Secretary. Listing the matter for further hearing on September 2, 2026, the court remarked that the compiled data is expected to be “very revealing.” The bench added that the timing coincides with the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) state-level consultation scheduled for early September, ahead of the national meet in October, centred on the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.