Supreme Court seeks nationwide data on missing children
Top court directs Union Home Ministry to appoint officer to coordinate with States and Union Territories
The Supreme Court has ordered the Union Government to provide nationwide data on missing children and appoint a dedicated officer in the Union Home Ministry to oversee coordination with states and union territories. This directive comes after a public interest litigation petition was filed by the non-profit organization Guria Swayam Sevi Sansthan, highlighting the increasing number of untraced children in various states.
The Court had previously mandated all states and union territories to designate officers for monitoring missing children cases and to update their details on the Mission Vatsalya portal, managed by the Women and Child Development Ministry. The Court's new instructions come as the Home Ministry has not yet nominated a dedicated officer for this purpose.
The Bench emphasized the need for effective dissemination of information and the use of the portal to address the surge in child trafficking cases, noting that current data only extends to 2020 and updated figures are required. The Home Ministry is now tasked with appointing a Nodal Officer within two weeks, compiling updated data from January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2025, and coordinating with other state and union territory nodal officers to collect relevant statistics on missing children and their prosecutions.
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