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The Supreme Court connected Tuesday (December 9, 2025) directed the Union Government to furnish six years of nationwide information connected missing children and to name a dedicated serviceman successful the Union Home Ministry to guarantee effectual coordination with States and Union Territories successful compiling specified information.
A Bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and R. Mahadevan was proceeding a nationalist involvement litigation petition filed by the non-profit organisation Guria Swayam Sevi Sansthan, which highlighted the rising fig of children who stay untraced crossed respective States. The Court had earlier directed each States and Union Territories to depute dedicated officers to oversee cases of missing children and to guarantee that specified details are promptly uploaded connected the Mission Vatsalya portal administered by the Women and Child Development Ministry.
Appearing for the Centre, Additional Solicitor-General Aishwarya Bhati informed the Bench that each States and Union Territories had appointed specified officers and uploaded their particulars connected the portal. She noted, however, that the effectual dissemination of accusation and coordinated usage of the level remained indispensable to securing meaningful outcomes.
“The Home Ministry and the Ministry of Women and Child Development could clasp further consultations and framework a modular operating process for the dissemination of information. Enabling the portal is 1 thing, but the portal has to beryllium utilized efficaciously by the stakeholders,” she said.
The Bench observed that the Home Ministry itself had not nominated a dedicated serviceman to oversee cases of missing children, contempt being the Central coordinating agency. It accordingly directed the Ministry to name specified an serviceman wrong 2 weeks and to upload the officer’s details connected the Mission Vatsalya portal.
“We find that the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Union of India has not appointed a dedicated Nodal Officer for cases of missing children for the intent of Mission Vatsalya, and hence an serviceman whitethorn beryllium nominated arsenic a dedicated nodal officer, whose details whitethorn besides beryllium uploaded connected the Mission Vatsalya portal,” the Court ordered.
Surge successful kid trafficking cases
Senior advocator Aparna Bhat, assisting the Court arsenic amicus curiae, apprised the Bench that broad information connected the presumption of investigations into cases of missing children, including however galore children were traced and restored to their families, were indispensable to curbing the surge successful kid trafficking.
“There is simply a emergence successful inter-State trafficking and kidnapping cases, and 1 mode to code this is to intimately analyse information connected missing children. With respect to trafficking, however galore prosecutions person been initiated? What has happened successful those cases truthful far? Those details are not available. The constabulary networks autumn nether the Home Ministry, and it is the Ministry that indispensable compile this information,” she submitted. She stressed that specified information were captious for ensuring the harmless restoration of children to their families and for securing the prosecution of those liable for trafficking.
Taking these concerns connected board, the Bench directed that the Nodal Officer to beryllium appointed by the Home Ministry should convene consultations with the Nodal Officers of each States and Union Territories to collate updated statistic connected cases of missing children, the fig of children traced, and their restoration to parents, guardians, oregon child-care institutions.
Ms. Bhati informed the Court that specified accusation had been compiled lone until 2020 and that updated information for the consequent years were required.
Accordingly, the Bench directed that the Nodal Officer to beryllium appointed by the Home Ministry should coordinate with Nodal Officers successful each State and Union Territory to compile statistic connected cases of missing children from January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2025.
“The statistic regarding missing children from January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2025, shall beryllium collated. Further, the Nodal Officers of each State and Union Territory shall besides collate accusation from the Director of Prosecution successful each State/Union Territory with respect to the prosecution of cases successful the substance of missing children and taxable those details to the Nodal Officer to beryllium appointed by the Central Government successful the MHA,” the Bench ordered.
The Bench directed that this full workout beryllium completed wrong six weeks of the Home Ministry appointing its Nodal Officer. It besides impleaded the Department of Women and Child Development, represented by its Principal Secretary, arsenic a responsive successful the proceedings.
The Court volition perceive the substance adjacent connected February 10, 2026.
