The Supreme Court has directed all states and Union territories (UTs) to immediately register first information reports (FIRs) whenever a person goes missing, irrespective of age or gender, expressing “shock” that some states were under the impression that its earlier direction applied only to missing children.
What Happened
“We are shocked to learn that some of the States are under the impression that the expression ‘person’ refers only to children and does not include adults. The committee was constituted to help frame a coordinated mechanism for tackling missing persons and human trafficking. We find this to be a deliberate and mala fide bogey raised by such states,” the bench said in its August 5 order, released on Monday. The latest order came after the bench was informed that its May 22 direction required all states to register an FIR upon receiving information about any missing person. Even where a person was traced and restored to the family within 24 hours, the police were required to act immediately. The May 22 order had directed the Union home ministry to establish an all-India grid connecting every police station through a dedicated portal for human trafficking, including missing children and women, and integrate it with Mission Vatsalya and the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network System (CCTNS).
It therefore directed police not to wait for 24 hours before activating the machinery for tracing a missing person.
A bench of justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and R Mahadevan termed the interpretation a “deliberate and mala fide bogey” and held that chief secretaries and directors general of police (DGPs) of states and UTs found to have failed to comply with its May 22 order would face contempt proceedings and be required to remain personally present before the court to explain the lapses. The court had, in that order, expressly directed every police station to immediately register an FIR the moment information was received about “any person missing”, without waiting for a preliminary inquiry or asking the family to first search for the missing person. The court had emphasised that the first few hours after a person goes missing are the “golden hours” during which the chances of safe recovery are at their maximum.
People Involved
The Supreme Court’s directions were issued as part of an ongoing exercise to put in place a coordinated, pan-India mechanism to deal with missing persons, human trafficking and the recovery and restoration of victims.
The court further directed that if any state or UT had failed to comply with the May 22 order “in its true letter and spirit”, contempt notices should be issued to the concerned chief secretary and DGP. The two officers would have to remain personally present and file show-cause affidavits explaining why they should not be proceeded against and punished for their “deliberate defiance and non-compliance” with the court’s orders.
