First Information Report in Criminal Procedure
In missing child cases, the Court directed immediate registration of FIRs without a preliminary inquiry. The FIRs must include relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to kidnapping.
Missing Child Cases and Kidnapping Presumption
The Court directed police to proceed on the presumption of kidnapping or abduction when a child goes missing. This direction applies from the outset of the complaint and does not depend on a guardian’s independent search. The order also refers to the problem of around 47,000 untraced children in India.
Anti-Human Trafficking Units and National Data Grid (AHTU And NDG)
The Court directed that all AHTUs across India must become fully functional within four weeks. The Ministry of Home Affairs was directed to create an all-India data grid linking every police station on a single platform with a dedicated portal for human trafficking, missing children, and missing women.
The Court constituted a committee headed by Justice (retd) Mukta Gupta to frame a pan-India standard operating procedure for missing children’s cases. The Court also directed that recovered persons or children should undergo Aadhar verification or be issued an Aadhar card.
Legal crusader appreciates the land mark directions given by Hon’ble Supreme Court of India to stop child trafficking in India
